Donald Trump received a hero’s welcome on Monday as he entered the Republican National Convention arena with a bandaged right ear, marking his first public appearance since the weekend’s assassination attempt.
Hours after formally securing the Republican presidential nomination and announcing right-wing Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate, Trump marched into Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum flanked by aides and waved at supporters on the convention’s opening day. The event is expected to be a triumphalist gathering.
Without delivering any remarks, Trump, who is scheduled to give a formal acceptance speech on Thursday, took his seat to the sound of Lee Greenwood’s patriotic hit “God Bless the USA.” He appeared deeply moved by the enthusiastic reception from the packed venue.
“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 told AFP on the convention floor.
It was the second major highlight of the day for the Republican crowd, who cheered earlier when Trump announced Vance, 39, as his vice-presidential pick. Vance, once a harsh critic, has become one of Trump’s staunchest supporters.
While Trump, 78, remains confident of a shocking return to the White House despite multiple legal issues and two impeachments clouding his first term, President Joe Biden faces weak polls and concerns about his health.
Vance, known for his 2016 memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” represents a new kind of populism that has surged under Trump. He is one of the least experienced VP picks in modern history but is aligned with Trump’s isolationist, anti-immigration America First movement and is further to the right on some issues, including abortion.
Vance initially made his name with “Hillbilly Elegy,” a best-selling account of his Appalachian family and modest Rust Belt upbringing, which resonated with rural, working-class Americans. He eventually won Trump’s endorsement in the 2022 Ohio Senate race, propelling his rise.
About 50,000 Republicans gathered on the shores of Lake Michigan for the four-day convention, which comes just four months before election day. The botched assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, western Pennsylvania, on Saturday has dominated proceedings.
The attack, which killed one bystander and left Trump with a bloodied ear requiring a bandage, has cast a shadow over the event. Despite his legal troubles, Trump leads in multiple polls and exudes confidence.
At 81, Biden faces calls from his own party to step aside due to concerns over his age. His campaign released a statement claiming 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.”
Trump told the New York Post he had prepared a “tough speech” about Biden’s administration to deliver at the convention. However, he opted for a more unifying message, despite some Republicans, including Vance, blaming Democrats’ anti-Trump rhetoric for the attack.
A diminished figure after his 2020 election loss and the subsequent Capitol riot by his supporters, Trump has spent much of the last four years reshaping Republican politics. He has installed loyalists, including his daughter-in-law Lara Trump, atop the Republican National Committee, effectively quashing dissent within the party.
Trump scored another victory on Monday as a judge dismissed one of the criminal cases against him concerning accusations he endangered national security by retaining top-secret documents after leaving the White House.
