At the Republican National Convention, Donald Trump captivated his audience with a dramatic recount of a recent assassination attempt, showcasing his tight hold on the party. Despite his calls for unity, his speech veered into divisive rhetoric on immigration and “America-first” policies. The convention highlighted Trump’s firm front-runner position amidst a chaotic political landscape, contrasting sharply with President Biden’s troubled campaign.
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By Josh Wingrove, Julie Fine and Hadriana Lowenkron
With a speech at the Republican National Convention that recounted harrowing details of an assassination attempt, Donald Trump basked in a moment that showed his grip on the party to be tighter than ever — and veered into territory Democrats hope is his Achilles heel.
Trump’s address in Milwaukee on Thursday was the finale of a raucous convention that borrowed heavily from his roots as a TV showman and where emboldened Republicans reveled in the party’s soaring fortunes.
The GOP nominee began the remarks with calls for unity, though he later swerved into the dark immigration rhetoric, America-first messages and off-the-cuff riffs that were hallmarks of his polarizing first term in the White House. His recounting of the shooting days before – a “loud whizzing sound,” blood “going everywhere” – was met with the pin-drop silence of a rapt crowd.
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The triumphant set piece for Trump made for a stark contrast with his rival, President Joe Biden, whose campaign is at its lowest moment as the candidate isolates at home due to Covid-19 while a rebellion simmers in his party that could force him off the ticket. Before Trump’s speech, Montana Senator Jon Tester joined calls for Biden to bow out, the second senator to do so.
Trump’s appearance was galvanizing for a party that was shaken after Saturday’s shooting in Pennsylvania that left one rallygoer dead, two others seriously hurt, and the nominee himself with a wounded ear. A firefighter’s jacket and helmet meant to represent Corey Comperatore — who was slain at his rally — stood alongside the former president on stage.
Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 18.
“I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” Trump said, drawing chants of “yes you are” from the crowd. “I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty God.”
His somber account of the incident quickly gave way to the kind of fodder Trump routinely delivers at his rallies. He made familiar calls to “drill, baby, drill” and return “law and order” to American streets.
Trump repeatedly decried illegal immigration, characterizing the migrant crisis as “a massive invasion at our southern border that has spread misery, crime, poverty, disease, and destruction to communities all across our land.”
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Those lines appeared more aimed at whipping up the MAGA faithful than winning over moderates and independents. But the contours of the race have made winning over new converts seem less urgent. Even before Biden’s disastrous debate performance and the subsequent revolt within the Democratic party, Trump had been leading in polls for months. And the attempt on Trump’s life has roused his own party, fueling a confidence that permeated the convention floor throughout much of the four-day gathering.
It all underscored what is an unfamiliar position for Trump in his third White House bid: being the frontrunner. “I better finish strong, otherwise we’ll blow it and we can’t let that happen,” he said.
Democrats saw an opening in Trump’s speech, with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee saying it laid bare an “extreme agenda” and Biden’s campaign hitting him for sidestepping subjects like his pledge to pardon those convicted of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the US Capitol.
“The choice has never been more clear,” Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said. “President Biden is more determined than ever to defeat Donald Trump.”
Long Speech
Trump’s speech was the longest ever for a nominee in the modern era. And while he hewed closely to his prepared remarks when describing the shooting, the rest often went heavily off script and more closely reflected a political rally.
He offered soaring promises not backed by details, pledging to “drive down prices” on day one, bring down interest rates and lower energy costs, while both reducing taxes and slashing the national debt, which has soared under both Trump and Biden with large annual deficits.
“We’re going to have a thing called common sense making most of our decisions, actually,” he ad-libbed.
He also nodded to the host state, Wisconsin, saying the convention was pouring millions into the local economy. “So I hope you will remember this in November and give us your vote,” Trump said. “I am trying to buy your vote, I’ll be honest about that.”
The metaphors in the final night of convention programming were anything but subtle. The speakers who took the stage before Trump included Dana White, the head of Ultimate Fighting Championship, and celebrity wrestler Hulk Hogan – two maestros of tough-guy spectacle. Hogan tore open his shirt on stage in a show of bravado that drew huge whoops from the crowd. Kid Rock also performed.
“I have never been to a more fun convention or a convention with better vibes,” Tucker Carlson, the conservative media figure, said in his own convention speech Thursday.
Chaotic Race
The convention was the latest crescendo in one of the most dizzying months in US political history. Biden’s catastrophic performance in the first debate last month sent his campaign into a tailspin. Trump deliberately receded from the spotlight, for a spell, letting his opponent’s implosion take center stage.
Trump’s run of luck continued with a Supreme Court ruling handing him a victory on whether certain presidential actions have legal immunity, and the dismissal of one of his criminal cases.
The assassination attempt, though, upended the race most of all. One delegate said that backdrop made the 2024 Republican convention feel different than the one she had attended eight years ago.
“2016 was so riveting, we were so ready for change and excitement,” said Alabama delegate Bonnie Sachs. “2024, I think, is more riveting after almost losing our president — it’s a more emotional convention and filled with gratitude.”
The incident served to stamp out the kind of intra-party tension that was on display the first time Trump was nominated as the GOP’s standard-bearer, when he vanquished members of the party’s establishment.
This time around, key primary rivals Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis offered endorsements in convention speeches.
Jack Brill, chairman of the Sarasota County Republican Party in Florida, pointed to the speeches by Haley and DeSantis. “We are 1,000% united behind President Trump’s election,” he said.
That broad support for a third Trump presidential campaign didn’t always seem inevitable. Trump was scorned by some voters over Jan. 6, and was blamed in some corners of the GOP for its lackluster showing in the 2022 midterm elections.
But Trump managed to survive those moments of reconsideration — and remake the party. Trump has installed his daughter-in-law Lara Trump as a co-chair of the Republican National Committee and helped draft the party’s platform.
Even when Trump has bucked powerful factions in his party, declining to endorse a national ban on abortion and criticizing the party’s messaging on the issue, he’s largely avoided dissent.
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