Trump recounts assassination attempt, then lays out dark portrait of America

MILWAUKEE – Former President Trump formally accepted the Republican presidential nomination Thursday night, capping a momentous six days in which he survived a nearly fatal assassination attempt, selected a running mate and made nightly appearances before adulatory crowds and speakers at the party’s national convention.

Trump began his speech in a more subdued tone than normal, with occasional flashes of his usual bombastic energy. But it soon turned menacing, as he painted a dark vision of an America that needed to be restored.

Much of Trump’s speech was dominated by him retelling and processing the story of Saturday’s attempted assassination, saying it’d be the only time he’d recount the incident “because it’s too painful to tell.”

Trump appeared inside Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum with a white bandage covering his ear, which was clipped when he was fired upon by a 20-year-old gunman during a campaign rally Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania. The assassination attempt that was millimeters away from being successful cemented the party’s unity behind its three-time presidential candidate.

“If I had not moved my head at that very last instant, the assassin’s bullet would have perfectly hit its mark, and I would not be here tonight. We would not be together,” Trump said.

“I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” he said.

“Yes you are!” the crowd chanted back.

Trump also held a moment of silence for Corey Comperatore, the retired firefighter who died at Saturday’s shooting. A uniform with Comperatore’s name, albeit misspelled, hung on stage, and at one point, Trump walked over and kissed the helmet.

Trump attended every night of the convention, watching as Republicans allies and former foes – including those who ran against him in the primaries such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley – sang his praises.

He began his rambling, 90-minute speech with a call for unity, “because there is no victory in winning for half of America.” Yet it didn’t take long for Trump to return to his usual jabs against President Joe Biden, calling him one of the worst presidents in history and adding, “I’m not going to use the name anymore.”

Championing his usual immigration rhetoric, he blamed Biden for an “invasion” at the border.

“We moved them out, and it was a pleasure,” he said. “They put them in a paddy wagon, they take them back, and they get them out of our country.

“I will not let these killers and criminals into our country,” he added. Numerous studies have shown that immigrants are not linked to high crime rates.

He blasted Biden for his decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, calling it “the worst humiliation in the history of our country.” He claimed, without evidence, that he “could stop wars with a telephone call.”

Trump wagered that the war in Ukraine would not have happened had he been president and boasted about having a good relationship with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un. Trump was the first president to meet the dictator.

The convention formalized the party’s platform as well as its presumptive nominees for president and vice president. The new platform, which was approved Monday, outlined party priorities that were markedly different from previous years. It does not call for a nationwide abortion ban and removes language defining marriage as between a man and woman. The document is a mere 16 pages, dozens of pages shorter than a typical party platform.

The week kicked off with Trump’s announcement of J.D. Vance, the Ohio senator and “Hillbilly Elegy” author, as his vice presidential running mate. Vance, who spoke Wednesday, championed his Midwestern background, frequently calling out battleground states such as Pennsylvania and Michigan.

With the attempted assassination and running mate announcement, Trump dominated news headlines this week. But President Biden, who paused campaigning after Sunday’s shooting, came under scrutiny again in recent days as Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., called for him to step aside, becoming the highest profile Democrat in the House to call for replacing the Democratic presidential nominee.

Biden announced Wednesday that he would retreat from the campaign trail because he tested positive for COVID-19. Speculation swirled Thursday that the president was becoming open to the possibility of stepping aside and allowing someone such as Vice President Kamala Harris to become the Democratic nominee.

Former first lady Melania Trump made a rare public appearance, smiling and waving at the crowd in a red suit. She has refrained from campaigning this year, offering only a rare statement in the hours after Trump was shot Saturday, calling for Americans to “ascend above the hate, the vitriol.”

The convention’s concluding night had a pugilistic theme, with the appearance of World Wrestling Entertainment co-founder Linda McMahon, a Trump’s former administrator of the Small Business Administration; Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White, and professional wrestler Hulk Hogan.

“Whatcha gonna do when Donald Trump and all the Trumpomaniacs run wild on you?” roared Hogan, a riff on his catchphrase during his glory days in professional wrestling. Hogan later tore open his shirt to reveal a red Trump-Vance muscle shirt.

Eric Trump, the former president’s son, lauded his father for his accomplishments as president and played up Trump’s persecuted posture, saying he was “ruthlessly silenced, slandered and attacked by a corrupt administration.”