MILWAUKEE, WIS. -- Donald Trump, somber and bandaged, accepted the GOP presidential nomination on Thursday at the Republican National Convention in a speech that described in detail the assassination attempt that could have ended his life just five days earlier before laying out a sweeping populist agenda, particularly on immigration.
The 78-year-old former president, known best for his bombast and aggressive rhetoric, began his acceptance speech with a softer and deeply personal message that drew directly from his brush with death. Moment by moment, the crowd listening in silence, Trump described standing onstage in Butler, Pennsylvania, with his head turned to look at a chart on display when he felt something hit his ear. He raised his hand to his head and saw immediately that it was covered in blood.
鈥淚f I had not moved my head at that very last instant, the assassin鈥檚 bullet would have perfectly hit its mark,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淎nd I would not be here tonight. We would not be together.鈥�
Trump鈥檚 address, the longest convention speech in modern history at just under 93 minutes, marked the climax and conclusion of a massive four-day Republican pep rally that drew thousands of conservative activists and elected officials to swing-state Wisconsin as voters weigh an election that currently features two deeply unpopular candidates. Sensing political opportunity in the wake of his near-death experience, the often bombastic Republican leader embraced a new tone he hopes will help generate even more momentum in an election that appears to be shifting in his favor.
鈥淭he discord and division in our society must be healed. We must heal it quickly. As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a shared destiny. We rise together. Or we fall apart,鈥� Trump said, wearing a large white bandage on his right ear, as he has all week, to cover a wound he sustained in the Saturday shooting. 鈥淚 am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America.鈥�
While he spoke in a gentler tone than at his usual rallies, Trump also outlined an agenda led by what he promises would be the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. He repeatedly accused people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally of staging an 鈥渋nvasion.鈥� Additionally, he teased new tariffs on trade and an 鈥淎merica first鈥� foreign policy.
Trump also falsely suggested Democrats had cheated during the 2020 election he lost 鈥� despite a raft of federal and state investigations proving there was no systemic fraud 鈥� and suggested 鈥渨e must not criminalize dissent or demonize political disagreement,鈥� even as he has long called for prosecutions of his opponents.
He did not mention abortion rights, an issue that has bedeviled Republicans ever since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federally guaranteed right to abortion two years ago. Trump nominated three of the six justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. Trump at his rallies often takes credit for Roe being overturned and argues states should have the right to institute their own abortion laws.
Nor did he mention the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in which Trump supporters tried to stop the certification of his loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump has long referred to the people jailed for the riot as 鈥渉ostages.鈥�
Indeed, Trump barely mentioned Biden, often referring only to the 鈥渃urrent administration.鈥�
鈥淚t was Donald Trump who destroyed our economy, ripped away rights, and failed middle class families,鈥� said Jen O'Malley Dillon, the Biden campaign chair, in a statement after the speech. 鈥淣ow he pursues the presidency with an even more extreme vision for where he wants to take this country.鈥�
The RNC ends at an uncertain moment in the race
With less than four months to go in the contest, major changes in the race are possible, if not likely.
Trump's appearance came as Biden, the 81-year-old Democratic incumbent, clings to his party鈥檚 presumptive nomination in the face of unrelenting pressure from key congressional allies, donors and even former President Barack Obama, who fear he may be unable to win reelection after his disastrous debate.
Long pressed by allies to campaign more vigorously, Biden is instead in isolation at his beach home in Delaware after having been diagnosed with COVID-19.
Hours before the balloons were scheduled to rain down on Trump and his family inside the convention hall, Biden deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks appeared nearby in Milwaukee and insisted over and over that Biden would not step aside.
鈥淚 do not want to be rude, but I don鈥檛 know how many more times I can answer that,鈥� Fulks told reporters. 鈥淭here are no plans being made to replace Biden on the ballot.鈥�
Strength on the program
Thursday's RNC program seemed designed to project strength and masculinity in an implicit rebuke of Biden.
Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White called Trump 鈥渁 real American bad ass.鈥� Kid Rock performed a song with the chorus, 鈥淔ight, fight!," echoing the word Trump mouthed on stage in Pennsylvania as Secret Service agents surrounded him. And wrestling icon Hulk Hogan described the former president as 鈥渁n American hero.鈥�
Hogan drew a raucous response when, standing on the main stage, he ripped off his shirt to reveal a red 鈥淢ake America Great Again鈥� shirt.
鈥淎s an entertainer, I try to stay out of politics,鈥� Hogan said as he briefly broke character. 鈥淚 can no longer stay silent."
Like many speakers during the convention, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson suggested that recent events were divinely inspired and that he wondered 鈥渋f something bigger is going on.鈥�
鈥淚 think it changed him,鈥� Carlson said of the shooting, praising Trump for not lashing out in anger afterward.
鈥淗e did his best to bring the country together,鈥� Carlson added. 鈥淭his is the most responsible, unifying behavior from a leader I鈥檝e ever seen.鈥�
Former first lady Melania Trump and Ivanka Trump, the president鈥檚 elder daughter and former senior adviser, joined Trump in the convention hall ahead of his speech, making their first appearances there. Neither woman spoke.
At nearly 93 minutes, the former president's speech eclipsed the 74 minutes for which he spoke eight years ago, according to the American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Republicans leave their convention united
The convention has showcased a Republican Party reshaped by Trump since he shocked the GOP establishment and won over the party鈥檚 grassroots on his way to the party鈥檚 2016 nomination. Rivals Trump has vanquished 鈥� including Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis 鈥� put aside their past criticisms and gave him their unqualified support.
Even his vice presidential pick, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump鈥檚 choice to carry his movement into the next generation, was once a fierce critic who suggested in a private message since made public that Trump could be 鈥淎merica鈥檚 Hitler.鈥�
Security was a major focus in Milwaukee in the wake of Trump鈥檚 near-assassination. But after nearly four full days, there were no serious incidents inside the convention hall or the large security perimeter that surrounded it.
The Secret Service, backed by hundreds of law enforcement officers from across the nation, had a large and visible presence. And during Trump鈥檚 appearances each night, he was surrounded by a wall of protective agents wherever he went.
Meanwhile, Trump and his campaign have not released information about his injury or the treatment he received. The former president on Thursday described his story of surviving the attack 鈥� and vowed he would not talk about it again.
鈥淚鈥檓 not supposed to be here tonight,鈥� Trump told the packed convention hall. The crowd of thousands, which was listening in silence, shouted back, 鈥淵es, you are.鈥�
Associated Press reporters Michelle L. Price, Farnoush Amiri and Adriana Gomez Licon in Milwaukee and Emily Swanson in Washington contributed to this report.
