Key Points
- Donald Trump has given his first speech since surviving an attempted assassination at a campaign rally.
- Trump said it would be the only time he discussed the shooting, as it would be “too painful” to speak about again.
- He formally accepted the Republican Party’s presidential nomination ahead of the 2024 election.
Former United States president has formally accepted the Republican Party’s nomination in the 2024 US federal election.
His speech at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee marked his first public address since surviving at a campaign rally.
Trump gave a message of “confidence, strength and hope” and vowed to deliver an “incredible victory” in the election.
He also recounted his experience of the shooting in Pennsylvania on 13 July.
“Together we will launch a new era of safety, prosperity and freedom for citizens of every race, religion, colour and creed,” he said.
“The discord and division in our society must be healed. We must heal it quickly. As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a shared destiny. We rise together or we fall apart.”
Trump said he was running “for all of America”.
“There is no victory in winning for half of America. So tonight, with faith and devotion, I proudly accept your nomination for president of the United States.”
Trump became the party’s presumptive nominee in March after primaries in January, February and March.
Trump recounts assassination attempt
Trump also spoke about the assassination attempt. He said it would be the only time he shared his story as it would be “too painful” to discuss again.
Trump recounted speaking at the rally and said he had been turning to point to a chart when he heard a “loud whizzing sound” and felt something hit him “really, really, hard” on his right ear.
“I said to myself, ‘Wow, what was that? It can only be a bullet,'” he said.
“[I] moved my right hand to my ear, brought it down, and my hand was covered with blood. Just absolutely blood all over the place.”
Trump said that, as Secret Service agents ran to protect him from bullets, he had felt safe because he “had God” on his side.
He claimed bullets were “flying right over them” and missing the agents by a “very small amount of inches”.
“Bullets were flying over us, yet I felt serene, but know Secret Service agents were putting themselves in peril,” he said.
“I’m not supposed to be here tonight. Not supposed to be here.”
‘Fight, fight, fight’
Trump said a Secret Service sniper had taken only one bullet to kill the man attempting to assassinate him.
He also described raising his fist and shouting “fight, fight, fight” to let the crowd know he was okay.
“Once my clenched fist went up, and it was high into the air — you’ve all seen that — the crowd realised I was okay and roared with pride for our country, like no crowd I have ever heard before,” he said.
“For the rest of my life, I will be grateful for the love shown by that giant audience of patriots that stood bravely on that fateful evening in Pennsylvania.”
Trump also paid tribute to Corey Comperatore, an attendee at the rally who was shot and killed, describing him as an “unbelievable person”.
More Democrats call for Joe Biden to step down
It comes as pressure continues to mount on to leave the race.
Prominent Democrats including Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and have called for Biden to drop out of the presidential election due to his age and concerns of a decline in his health and cognitive abilities.
The 81-year-old performed poorly in the first presidential debate against Trump in June, making several verbal stumbles and meandering responses.
At a news conference on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington DC, h, including mistakenly referring to Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “President Putin” and his rival Donald Trump as his “vice-president”.
In July, the New York Times reported visitor logs showed a doctor specialising in Parkinson’s disease visited the White House at least eight times between August 2023 and March this year.
In response, Biden’s personal physician issued a letter on Monday night that said Biden has not seen a neurologist outside of his normal annual physical examination.
On 18 July, Biden announced he has tested positive for COVID-19 and said he would isolate at home while he recovered.
