Trump strolled into the Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee with a heavy bandage over his ear as the crowd screamed “Fight! Fight! Fight” and raised their hands, referencing his reaction minutes after being wounded.
The former president mouthed the words “Thank you” before settling into a box with several of his children and U.S. Senator J.D. Vance, Trump’s running mate who was named earlier that day.
Trump is scheduled to formally accept the party’s nomination in a prime-time address on Thursday, and he will face Democratic President Joe Biden in the November 5 election.
The four-day convention began less than 48 hours after a gunman opened fire on a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, killing one fan. The gunman was fatally shot, and his motivation is unclear
During Monday’s session, the party offered speaking slots to six ordinary Americans who underlined the impact of inflation on poor and middle-income households, while Republican leaders criticized the Biden administration for being out of touch.
Senator Tim Scott, who briefly ran against Trump for the nomination, said supernatural intervention saved Trump’s life.
“Our God still saves,” Scott explained. “He continues to deliver and set free. Because on Saturday, the devil came to Pennsylvania with a rifle, but an American lion sprang to his feet and roared!”
Vance, 39, was a harsh Trump critic in 2016, but he has now become one of the former president’s staunchest supporters, accepting his phony assertions that the 2020 election was tainted by major fraud.
Vance is extremely popular among Trump’s loyal fans, but it remains to be seen whether he can widen the ticket’s appeal. He shares Trump’s confrontational approach to politics, and his strong views on subjects like abortion may turn off centrist voters.
Soon after Trump’s midday announcement, Vance and his wife Usha appeared on the convention floor, shaking hands and hugging delegates who surrounded them. He is set to speak at the convention on Wednesday.
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS AT ISSUE:
Biden told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland that Vance is “a clone of Trump on the issues,” while other Democrats challenged Vance’s record on reproductive rights.
On monday night, Vance said he agreed with Trump’s position that each state should determine whether to allow abortion.
Opinion surveys show a close race between Trump, 78, and Biden, 81, with Trump leading in many swing states that will likely decide the election. Trump has not agreed to accept the election results if he loses.
Taylor Budowich, the head of MAGA Inc, the biggest fundraising super PAC supporting Trump’s campaign, said on X that the group had raised more than $50 million on Monday.
The Wall Street Journal claimed that billionaire Elon Musk intends to donate approximately $45 million per month to a new pro-Trump super PAC, citing people familiar with his plans. Musk endorsed Trump following the assassination attempt on Saturday
Following the shooting, Trump announced that he was changing his acceptance speech to stress national unity rather than his issues with Biden.
“The speech will be a lot different, much different than it would’ve been two days ago,” Trump told the Washington Examiner.
The day began with another in a line of recent legal successes for Trump, as U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed federal charges accusing him of keeping sensitive materials after leaving the White House.
For attempting to conceal a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in the weeks leading up to his 2016 election win, Trump is scheduled to be sentenced in New York in September.
The U.S. Supreme Court decided in July that he had immunity for many of his official acts as president, which has put delays on his other two indictments on federal charges in Washington and state charges in Georgia, both of which are connected to his attempts to reverse his election defeat in 2020. These indictments may also have substantial limitations.
The prosecutions of hundreds of Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, were also mentioned by the president on Truth Social on Monday. “This dismissal of the Lawless Indictment in Florida should be just the first step, followed quickly by the dismissal of ALL the Witch Hunts,” Trump said.
VIOLENCE HAS NO PLACE HERE
The assassination attempt on Trump’s life drastically changed the course of the presidential campaign, which had been centered on whether or not Joe Biden should withdraw because of worries about his aging and cognitive abilities after a disastrous debate performance on June 27.
Biden has received calls from over two dozen Democratic members of Congress urging him to drop his reelection campaign and let the party select a new standard bearer.
This week, Trump will be the main topic of discussion.
With party control solidified, Trump may take advantage of the occasion to offer a unifying speech or, as he has occasionally done throughout the campaign trail, portray a dire picture of a country under attack by a corrupt leftist elite.
Throughout his campaign speeches, Trump has regularly used violent vocabulary, calling his opponents “fascists” and “vermin.”
Despite the fact that the reason for the attempted assassination is still unknown, Republicans claim that Biden’s portrayal of Trump as a danger to American democracy contributed to the climate that led to the shooting.
Biden attempted to moderate months of harsh political vitriol after Saturday’s shooting.
During a Sunday speech from the White House, Biden declared, “There is no place in America for this kind of violence.”
Biden said that telling contributors that it was “time to put Trump in the bullseye” last week was a “mistake” on Monday, but he also pointed out that Trump frequently uses divisive language.
In order to find out how the gunman might have gone so close to killing Trump, Biden authorized an independent probe. In addition, congressional investigators attempted to speak with the director of the U.S. Secret Service, which is in charge of the former president’s protection.
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