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Five days after a .22 calibre bullet came within inches of ending his life, Donald Trump recounted his brush with death, and cast himself as a triumphant hero, as he accepted his party’s presidential nomination for the third consecutive election cycle on the final day of the Republican National Convention.
The ex-president, who wore a bandage on the ear that was grazed during the attempt on his life, told the crowd of delegates and supporters on Thursday that he was “not supposed to be here” and credited his presence on the stage in Wisconsin to “the grace of almighty God.”
“There was blood pouring everywhere, and yet in a certain way I felt very safe because I had God on my side. I felt that,” he said.
As photographs of that day were displayed on a bank of screens behind him, Trump claimed rallygoers had believed him dead after his Secret Service detail rushed the stage, and told the convention audience that the photo of him raising a fist as he exhorted his supporters to “fight” came out of a desire to reassure them that he was still alive.
The ex-president also said he would spend the remainder of his life “grateful” for “the love shown by that giant audience of patriots” who’d been there in Pennsylvania last weekend, including the two supporters who were left wounded by the gunman, David Dutch and James Copenhaver, and Buffalo Township fire chief Corey Comperatore, who died.
Almost all of the Trump family joined the former president. Former first lady Melania Trumo, who had been absent throughout the majority of the convention, also appeared alongside him at the end of the convention in a rare appearance.
“On this journey, I’m deeply honored to be joined by my amazing wife Melania,” he said, praising the letter she sent out calling for national unity.
After asking the crowd for a moment of silence, Trump said his “resolve” was “unbroken” towards his goal of delivering “a government that serves the American people better than ever before.”
“Nothing will stop me in this mission, because our vision is righteous and our cause is pure,” he said.
Trump’s demeanor appeared more subdued as he recounted the shooting. Later in the nearly two-hour speech, the substance of his remarks hewed closer to the grievance-landen rhetoric that has characterized his rallies since the 2016 election.
He claimed that the outcome of the assassination attempt, which has been condemned and denounced by prominent figures from across the political spectrum, should be an end to the various criminal cases against him.
Trump is the first convicted felon to accept the nomination of a major political party, having been found guilty on 34 separate charges by a New York City jury earlier this year. He also faces federal charges stemming from his efforts to unlawfully remain in office after losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden, as well as a state-level case in a Georgia court for his attempt to strong-arm state officials into falsifying election results.
Trump accused Democrats of “weaponizing the justice system” against him and called for them to stop pointing out his previous efforts to subvert election results by labeling him as a threat to democracy, instead claiming that he is “the one who is saving democracy for the people of our country.”
His remarks were largely delivered as prepared from a teleprompter, though he appeared to go off on tangents. In one instance, he suggested that Wisconsin residents should cast their ballot for him because of his heavy investment in the Badger State.
“And by the way, Wisconsin, we are spending over $250 million here, creating jobs and other economic development all over the place. So I hope you will remember this in November and give us your vote. I am trying to buy your vote. I’ll be honest about that,” he said, before returning to reading from the monitor on front of him.
While lacking the bombast of his typical rally speeches, Trump largely stuck to the boilerplate slogans and promises he has offered audiences since launching his third presidential campaign in November 2022. In the same way, he was introduced by an aggressively macho ticket of WWE legend Hulk Hogan, Kid Rock performing a revamped version of “American Bad***” and UFC president Dana White.
He also included his familiar lies that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
He claimed he would singlehandedly “end the devastating inflation crisis, immediately bring down interest rates and lower the cost of energy,” though he offered no explanation for how he’d do any of those things - all of which fall far outside the reaches of presidential authority.
He also told supporters he’d somehow enable the US to pay off its national debt even while lowering the taxes that are collected to fund government operations, and he repeated his oft-stated promise to end wars between Ukraine and Russia and Israel and Hamas.
And although his opponent — President Joe Biden — did not appear in his prepared remarks, he mentioned his successor’s name during one off-script tangent before realizing he wasn’t supposed to do so, telling the crowd he’d only mention Biden’s name “once” and accusing him of doing “unthinkable” damage to the country.
Another tangent saw Trump return to a gaffe he’d made during his debate with Biden, when he claimed migrants from South and Central America were taking “Black jobs.”
This time, the ex-president claimed — without evidence — that migrants are “taking the jobs from our Black population, our Hispanic population.”
“And they’re also taking them from unions,” he said, though he did not explain how migrants could be filling jobs that are restricted to union members.
He also called for the firing of the United Auto Workers president who has supported Biden. He threw out his recent idea of not taxing tips, which led to a chant of “no tax on tips.”
Trump also promoted economic protectionism, talking about putting in place tariffs against countries that do business with foreign adversaries like Iran.
He also returned to another trope, characterizing border issues as an “invasion”. Trump displayed the chart showing the increase in illegal immgration that he had been referring to when a gunman shot him in Pennsylvania.
“Without that chart I would not be here today,” he said. He also baselessly claimed that foreign nations are sending criminals to the United States, which he said necessitates the largest deportation order in history.
Trump’s speech capped off a week of speeches at the RNC and signified how Trump, once a pariah in his party, has consolidated support with the GOP. It also comes as Democrats scramble as Biden continues to trail Trump significantly in most swing state polls amid mounting calls for the president to exit the race from his own party.
The week also saw the debut of Trump’s new running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, who sat in the VIP section with the former first lady. Trump will now head to Michigan with Vance.
Next month, the Democrats will hold their convention in Chicago, either where Biden will receive the Democratic nomination or Trump will learn about his new Democratic opponent.
