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Donald Trump said that he is running to be president “for all of America, not half of America,” as he accepted his party’s nomination in his first speech since the assassination attempt against him less than a week ago.
“The discord and division in our society must be healed,” the former president in a speech that opened with a unifying note, but subsequently saw Trump return to familiar rhetoric by going after the Democrats, illegal immigration, and false claims of election fraud.
Trump described in detail how close he was to being shot in Pennsylvania last week, saying “you’ll never hear it from me a second time, because it’s actually too painful to tell.” “There was blood pouring everywhere, and yet in a certain way I felt very safe because I had God on my side.”
“I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” Trump said, met with a chorus of “yes, you are” from the crowd.
Trump then turned to his main campaign promises, promising to fix the economy and end the crises in Ukraine and the Middle East. He particularly emphasized his divisive immigration record, vowing to put a stop to what he called “the illegal immigrant invasion, the worst that’s ever been seen anywhere in the world” along the Southern border. He promised to close the borders on “day one” if he takes back the White House.
Trump was not expected to mention President Joe Biden by name, but said that “if you took the ten worst presidents in the history of the United States… added them up, they will not have done the damage that Biden has done.” “I’m not going to use the name anymore, just one time.”
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The contrast could not be starker between the Republican nominee basking in praise from the crowd in Milwaukee and the mounting pressure Democrats are putting on Biden to step aside.
Democratic heavyweights including Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, Hakeem Jeffries, and Barack Obama have reportedly told Biden he should reconsider his decision to stay in the race because he is unlikely to win in November. People close to the president believe he is starting to accept that he may not be able to win, with one telling NBC News “we’re close to the end.”
In the run-up to the speech, Trump and his advisors emphasized that his speech would be more personal after his near death experience last week. Trump told The Washington Examiner that he had been preparing a “humdinger” of a speech attacking Biden, but said “it’s going to be a whole different speech now.”
His daughter-in-law, Lara Trump told CBS News that Americans could see “a different version of Donald Trump tonight, perhaps a bit softer version than maybe some of the people at home have seen in the past.”
The assassination attempt has rallied crowds at the convention, with attendees chanting “fight, fight, fight,” echoing what Trump mouthed seconds after the shooting. Delegates have also started wearing ear bandages in solidarity with Trump, who has sported a small white bandage on his right ear, where he was injured in the shooting.