Former US president Donald Trump on Monday received a hero’s welcome as he entered the Republican National Convention arena with a bandaged right ear in his first public appearance since being wounded in an assassination attempt on Saturday.
Hours after winning the formal nomination to be the Republican presidential candidate and announcing US Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate, Trump marched into Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum flanked by aides and waved at supporters on the opening day of what is expected to be a triumphalist gathering.
Trump, who is due to give a formal acceptance speech tomorrow, took his seat to the sound of country singer Lee Greenwood’s patriotic hit God Bless the USA without delivering any remarks, but appeared markedly moved by the rapt ovation he received from a packed venue.
Photo: Bloomberg
“It was absolutely amazing. I mean, just thinking what he’s been through, and to come here today because he really cares,” Illinois Delegate Susan Sweeney said on the convention floor.
It was the second huge moment of the day for the Republican crowd, which erupted into cheers earlier as Trump announced Vance, 39, as his vice presidential pick, rewarding a one-time harsh critic who has become one of his most uncompromising supporters.
About 50,000 Republicans descended on the shores of Lake Michigan for the four-day convention, four months before election day.
The gathering comes with the country reeling from a botched attempt by a gunman to kill Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. The attack — which killed one bystander and left Trump with the bloodied ear that required the bandage — was expected to dominate proceedings.
Leading in multiple polls, despite being convicted in his hush-money criminal case in New York, Trump is exuding confidence.
US President Joe Biden’s campaign released a statement saying the Trump-Vance agenda would “take away Americans’ rights, hurt the middle class, and make life more expensive — all while benefiting the ultra-rich and greedy corporations.”
Biden has ordered an independent review to determine how the gunman could have come so close to killing Trump despite the US Secret Service’s heavy security presence.
Trump told the New York Post that he had “prepared an extremely tough speech” about Biden’s “horrible administration” to deliver at the convention.
As some Republicans, including Vance, sought to blame Democrats’ anti-Trump rhetoric for the attack, Trump said he had torn up that version in favor of one he hopes will “unite our country.”
Still, that means him having to rein in the instinct to settle scores — demonstrated by his cry for supporters to “fight” in the seconds after Saturday’s attack.
Trump on Monday scored another victory, as a judge dismissed one of the criminal cases against him, concerning accusations he endangered national security by holding on to top secret documents after leaving the White House.
Meanwhile, Tech billionaire Elon Musk said he plans to commit about US$45 million each month to a fund backing Trump for US president, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Musk’s donations would go to a political group dubbed America PAC, which would focus on promoting voter registration, early voting and mail-in ballots among residents in swing states ahead of the November general election, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
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