MILWAUKEE — Republican delegates capped the opening night of their national convention by erupting with a thunderous ovation when a bandaged Donald Trump appeared just two days after the former president survived a would-be assassin’s bullets.
Trump wore a white bandage on his right ear to cover the damage done when a 20-year-old man opened fire during a Saturday campaign rally in Butler, Pa., and nearly killed the GOP standard bearer. Trump joined his family members and supporters in a red box just above the convention floor and flanked by Secret Service personnel. Pumping his fist and waving to thousands of loyalists, Trump took his spot in the arena as country music singer Lee Greenwood belted out his rally walk-out song, “God Bless The U.S.A.”
In their first appearance together, he stood beside Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, the 39-year-old retired Marine whom he announced earlier Monday as his running mate. The crowd erupted in a chant of, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” That echoed Trump’s message Saturday as his Secret Service detail whisked him off stage, blood running down his face.
