Donald Trump made a dramatic return to the public eye at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Monday.
This marked his first appearance since narrowly surviving an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday.
The former president received a rapturous reception as he entered the Fiserv Forum, sporting a thick bandage over his right ear where he was struck by a bullet. Delegates stood and cheered while country music star Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” played in the background.
Though visibly moved, Trump did not address the convention, choosing instead to smile and wave as supporters chanted “Fight! Fight! Fight!”—a nod to his defiant reaction after the shooting. Trump then took a seat in a VIP box with some of his children and his newly announced vice-presidential running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance.
Multiple speakers at the RNC addressed the attempt on Trump’s life. South Carolina Senator Tim Scott invoked religious imagery, saying, “Our God still saves, he still delivers and he still sets free. Because, on Saturday, the devil came to Pennsylvania holding a rifle—but an American lion got back up on his feet, and he roared.”
The convention’s official theme for the evening was the economy. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin expressed optimism that Trump would restore a “rip-roaring economy that lifts up all Americans.”
Trump’s appearance came just hours after a Florida judge dismissed one of the three pending criminal cases against him, providing a significant legal victory. He is expected to formally accept the Republican nomination on Thursday, setting the stage for a rematch against Democratic President Joe Biden in November.
Unity has emerged as a key theme of the RNC, with Trump signaling a shift in tone in a Sunday interview where he promised a “whole different speech” than originally planned. The attack on Trump has also spurred widespread calls for reducing political divisions, with both Trump and Biden urging Americans to come together.
Despite this call for unity, some of Monday’s RNC speeches were described as “strident” and “angry.” Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson referred to Democrats as a “clear and present danger,” a comment he later attributed to an earlier version of his speech being loaded into the teleprompter.
LEADERSHIP reports that Ohio Senator JD Vance and other prominent Republicans have accused Biden and the Democrats of inciting the attack through heated rhetoric portraying Trump as a threat to democracy. Biden, in his first television interview since the incident, admitted it was a mistake to tell donors that Trump should be put “in a bull’s-eye,” but defended his characterization of Trump as a threat to democracy.
Political analysts are divided on how the assassination attempt will affect Trump’s campaign. Some suggest it may bolster his chances, particularly in key swing states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
Trump currently leads Biden by 2.2 per cent in national polls, according to the 538 website, with his lead growing after Biden’s faltering debate performance last month.
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