MILWAUKEE – Five days after the assassination attempt, former President Trump formally accepted the Republican presidential nomination at the climax of the 2024 Republican National Convention and called for national unity..
“I’m running for president not for half of America, but for all of America, because winning for half of America is not winning,” Trump emphasized to the thousands of delegates, party officials and activists packed into the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, as well as a nationwide audience watching the convention at home.
“The divisions and rifts in our society must be healed. As Americans, we are bound by one destiny and a common fate. We either stand together or fall,” the former president said.
The shooting at President Trump’s rally in western Pennsylvania on Saturday, which left the gunman and one spectator dead, had an immediate impact on the tone and message of the convention and, as President Trump acknowledged, changed his speech.
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Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump arrive at the 2024 Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Thursday, July 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Custer)
“I want to begin this evening by thanking the American people for the outpouring of love and support they have shown me following the assassination attempt at my rally on Saturday,” Trump said. “As you all know, the assassin’s bullet came very close to taking my life.”
“A lot of people have asked me what happened, so I’m going to tell you what happened,” the former president and Republican presidential candidate said.
“You’ll never hear this story from me again because it’s too painful to talk about,” he said.
“We knew we were under attack,” Trump said of the shooting.
Trump praised the “very brave Secret Service agents who rushed onto the stage and jumped into my care.”
“There was blood everywhere, but in some way I felt very safe because God was on my side,” Trump said. “The amazing thing is, if I hadn’t moved my head at the last moment before he shot me, the assassin’s bullet would have been perfectly on target and I wouldn’t be here with you tonight.”
“I was not supposed to be here tonight. It is only by the grace of Almighty God that I am standing before you in this arena. Many people have said this was a providential moment,” Trump said.
But the crowd cried out, “Yes, yes.”
He then acknowledged, “None of us know God’s plan or where life’s adventure will take us, but if the events of last Saturday make anything clear, it’s that every moment we spend on earth is a gift from God. We must make the most of each day for the people and country we love.”
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Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump embraces the turnout gear and helmet of former Buffalo Township Fire Chief Corey Comperatore, who was killed at a rally last week, during his acceptance speech on Day 4 of the Republican National Convention (RNC) at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA on July 18, 2024. (Reuters/Mike Seeger)
Trump also pointed out that he had placed on stage the helmet and firefighter’s jacket of slain former fire chief Cory Comperatore at the rally, and asked the audience to observe a moment of silence.
He said more than $6 million has been raised in recent days for Comperatore’s family and the families of the two men seriously injured in the shooting.
The former president also thanked his wife, former first lady Melania Trump.
“I’m incredibly honored to have my incredible wife, Melania, with me on this journey,” Trump told the crowd during an emotional speech in Milwaukee.
He then referred to her letter to America, in which she called for unity following the assassination attempt on her husband.
“I am thinking of you now, my fellow Americans,” she wrote. “The dawn has dawned again. Now is the time to come together again.”
The former president praised the letter.
“Melania, thank you so much. You did a really wonderful thing. A letter calling on America to come together as a nation. You really surprised the Republicans. It was really wonderful,” he said.
“Some very serious people have said that letter should be part of the Republican platform. Wouldn’t that be an honor?”
The former president also expressed gratitude to his family, especially his children and grandchildren.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives at the Republican National Convention (RNC) at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., Wednesday, July 17, 2024. The chairman of the Republican National Convention warned against complacency as the party wraps up its official nominating event this week with polls showing former President Donald Trump will beat President Joe Biden in the November election. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
But after his own close encounter with death, the former president called for easing tensions in a political climate seared by fiery rhetoric from both the right and the left.
“In a time when politics too often divide us, now is the time to remember that we are all the same people, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,” Trump said.
“We cannot criminalize dissent or demonize political difference. In that spirit, Democrats should immediately stop weaponizing our justice system and branding their political opponents as enemies of democracy, because that is particularly untrue,” Trump said.
President Trump appealed to “everyone, young or old, Democrat or Republican, independent, black, white, Asian or Hispanic” and repeatedly criticized the administration of the current Democratic president, but only mentioned President Biden by name once.
“They’re not going to do the damage that Biden caused. They’re only going to use that word one time,” Trump said. “Biden. I’m not going to use that name again. Just one time.”
Republican presidential candidate and former US president Donald Trump shakes hands with Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance next to Eric Trump at the Fiserv Forum on the second day of the Republican National Convention (RNC) on July 16, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
Live Updates: Republican National Convention
“It’s time for change. We can’t have this administration for another four years,” Trump said, pointing to inflation, the crisis on the southern border with Mexico and the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
Trump reminded his supporters that the MAGA movement “was never about me, it was always about you.”
“It’s always been about hard-working, patriotic Americans,” he said.
After the speech, Mr. Trump’s family and the families of his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, took to the stage.
The former president announced at the start of the convention on Monday that Vance, 39, a one-time critic of Trump but now a leading America First advocate, would serve as his running mate.
“I am pleased to have a new friend and partner fighting alongside me: the next Vice President of the United States, current Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, and his wonderful wife, Usha,” Trump said minutes earlier, chiming in as he addressed his running mate.
For the latest FOX news coverage from the Republican Convention, click here
Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, gestures to Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump during the Republican National Convention, Thursday, July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Matt Luke)
Republicans used the convention to reunite the party and galvanize delegates and activists ahead of the final stages of the campaign for a rematch between Trump and Biden in the 2024 presidential election.
The call for party unity was on display throughout the convention, with former Republican presidential rivals Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a former U.N. ambassador to the United States and a former Republican presidential candidate who ran against Trump in fierce primaries, speaking from the podium in support of the former president.
As the Republican convention ended, the Biden campaign targeted Trump, Vance and Republicans.
Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
“Over the past four days, Republicans have offered up their vision for the country, and now it’s clearer than ever that Americans face a stark choice between contrasting visions for our country,” said Quentin Fulks, Biden’s deputy campaign chief of staff.
“Biden and Harris will unite the country, create opportunity for all, and lower costs and “The Trump-Vance Administration will put forward harmful policies that will disenfranchise Americans, hurt the middle class and make life more expensive while benefiting the super-rich and greedy corporations,” Fulks argued.
President Trump’s convention speech came less than two months after a former and current president was convicted of 34 felony counts in a criminal trial, the first time in American history. However, the Supreme Court ruled on the issue of presidential immunity, an issue that arose from charges brought against President Trump by Special Counsel Jack Smith. The Supreme Court ruled that the president enjoys immunity for “official duties.” President Trump is seeking to use this Supreme Court precedent to overturn the ruling and appeal.
The judge postponed Trump’s sentencing until September.
But Biden’s disastrous debate performance against Trump last month has led to growing calls within Democrats for the president to abandon his 2024 reelection bid and withdraw from the race.
President Joe Biden waves as he descends the steps of Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. President Biden is back at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where he is self-isolating after testing positive for COVID-19. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Reports in the past 24 hours have said that top Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have had frank discussions with Biden about ending his campaign.
And Trump’s speech at the convention sparked speculation that he could withdraw from the 2024 election within days.
But Biden campaign spokesman TJ Ducklo told Fox News Digital that these reports were “Totally inaccurate.”
Another Biden aide told Fox News Digital that Biden is “more committed than ever to winning this election.”
Get the latest 2024 campaign updates, exclusive interviews and more on Fox News Digital’s Election Hub.
