Donald Trump lit up the crowd at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee as he took the stage to give his keynote speech on Thursday night.
As he discussed the assassination attempt against him, Trump kissed the helmet of retired fire chief Corey Comperatore, who was fatally shot at the Butler, Pennsylvania rally on Saturday. Trump also flashed a $1 million check donated by a friend to the families of the rally victims.
Trump said he has raised millions for Comperatore’s family, as well as the two attendees injured.
Moments ago, Melania Trump made a surprise entrance at the convention after being largely absent from her husband’s campaign events.
The former president, still sporting a bandaged ear, entered the convention earlier in the night. He was met with a standing ovation as AC/DC’s “Back in Black” played. Trump promised his remarks will be more moderate in tone after he called for cooler rhetoric after he survived an assassination attempt on Saturday night.
Trump’s remarks follow speeches from major figures like Eric Trump, Tucker Carlson and Alina Habba.
Trump’s new running mate JD Vance closed out the third night of the RNC with his first speech as the GOP’s vice presidential nominee.
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Key Points
- When is Donald Trump speaking tonight?
- Melania makes rare appearance at RNC with Trump as family including Jared and Ivanka fill box on final night
- Livestream: Trump to give RNC keynote speech
- From ‘Kai Trump 2040’ to Don Jr and Eric, the Trump family has made its mark on the RNC
- Trump recounts assassination attempt in great detail during RNC speech as he says its ‘painful’ to tell the story
Trump kisses Corey Comperatore’s helmet
04:03
Katie Hawkinson
Donald Trump kissed the helmet of Corey Comperatore, the retired fire chief killed by Thomas Matthew Crooks during his Butler, Pennsylvania rally on Saturday.
Comperatore died after diving on top of his wife and daughter to protect them from Crooks’ gunfire.
Trump also flashed a $1 million check donated by a friend to support Comperatore’s family and the two others injured at the rally.
Trump recounts assassination attempt in great detail during RNC speech as he says its ‘painful’ to tell the story
03:57
Eric Garcia
Five days after a .22 caliber bullet came within inches of ending his life, Donald Trump recounted his survival 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 in Milwaukee on Thursday.
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 that he was “not supposed to be here” and credited his presence on the stage to “the grace of almighty God.”
Read more:
Crowd reacts as Trump describes assassination attempt
03:47
Katie Hawkinson, John Bowden
As Donald Trump described the assassination attempt against him, the crowd joined in on the remarks with cheers and chants of their own.
Trump earned a big laugh when he told the crowd that ears bleed more than any other part of the body.
When Trump said he is “not supposed to be here” following the near-miss gunshot, the crowd responded by chanting, “Yes you are, yes you are!”
“I raised my right arm, looked at the 1000s and 1000s of people that were breathlessly waiting and started shouting, ‘Fight, fight, fight,’” Trump told the crowd.
Attendees responded by chanting, “fight!”
‘If I had not moved my head...I would not be here’: Trump describes assassination attempt
03:41
Katie Hawkinson
For the first time, Donald Trump is speaking about the assassination attempt against him during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday.
“It was a warm, beautiful day in the early evening in Butler township in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” Trump said from the Republican National Convention stage.
“Behind me and to the right was a large screen that was displaying a chart of border crossings under my leadership, the numbers were absolutely amazing,” he continued. “In order to see the chart, I started to like this turn to my right and was ready to begin a little bit further turn, which I’m very lucky I didn’t do when I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me really, really hard on my right ear.”
Trump said he moved his hand to his ear and saw it was covered in blood.
“I immediately knew it was very serious that we were under attack, and in one movement, proceeded to drop to the ground,” Trump told attendees. “Bullets were continuing to fly as very brave Secret Service agents rushed to the stage — and they really did, they rushed to the stage.”
“If I had not moved my head at that very last instant, the assassin’s bullet would have perfectly hit its mark, and I would not be here tonight.”
Trump told the audience he is “not supposed to be here tonight.” The crowd responded with chants of: “Yes you are, yes you are!”
Donald Trump takes the stage
03:36
Katie Hawkinson
Donald Trump takes the stage for his keynote address after Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, gave an impassioned speech in support of the former president and introduced him to the Republican National Convention.
See it: Kid Rock performs at RNC
03:31
Katie Hawkinson
Kid Rock gave an energetic performance at the Republican National Convention before introducing his brother, Dana White.
Eric Trump on assassination attempt: ‘Never have I been more proud to be a Trump’
03:08
Katie Hawkinson
Eric Trump told the Republican National Convention about his reaction to the assassination attempt against his father during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday.
“A man who survived a bullet that was intended to eliminate him permanently from our future and from our family,” Eric Trump said. “Never have I been more proud to be a Trump.”
“Dad five days ago, Lara, Luke, Carolina and I held our breath as we saw blood pour across your face,” he continued. “By the grace of God, divine intervention and your guardian angels above you survived.”
The 40-year-old then recounted the moments after the bullet struck Donald Trump’s ear.
“The whole world saw your strength as you stood up, you wiped the blood off your face, you put your fist in the air, in a moment that will be remembered as one of the most courageous acts in the history of American politics, you shouted: Fight!”
The crowd broke out into applause, chanting, “Fight, fight.”
Eric Trump speaks ahead of father’s keynote address: ‘Not a threat to democracy'
02:57
Katie Hawkinson
Eric Trump is speaking at the Republican National Convention minutes ahead of his father’s keynote address.
His brother, Donald Trump Jr, and neice Kai Trump both spoke on Wednesday evening in support of the former president.
“He brought manufacturing back to America small businesses flourished,” Eric Trump said of his father. “He did what he promised he put America first we were winning. Donald Trump made America great again.”
“But he also created a movement, a movement that threatened the special interest of the political elites, a movement that cast a bright light on the institution’s weaponized against the American people,” he continued.
The 40-year-old said his father is “not a threat to democracy.”
“He is a threat to those who despise our republic, many of whom are bought and sold bribed and coerced, people who have never signed the front of a check, and who had been dependent on the government their entire adult lives,” Eric Trump said as he was met with cheers from the audience.
Melania makes rare appearance at RNC with Trump as family including Jared and Ivanka fill box on final night
02:50
Mike Bedigan
Melania Trump has finally made an appearance alongside her husband on the final night of the Republican National Convention, as the former president prepares to make his first speech since the attempt on his life.
The former first lady was pictured standing behind Trump as he signed paperwork to officially accept the Republican nomination for presidential candidate on Thursday.
Hulk Hogan takes the stage: ‘Trump is the toughest of them all'
02:39
Katie Hawkinson
Famous wrestler Hulk Hogan took the stage for an energetic speech at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night.
“Over my career, I’ve been in the ring with some of the biggest, some of the baddest dudes on the planet, and I’ve squared off against warriors, ooh, yeah, savages,” Hogan said. “And I’ve even, like I said, body-slammed giants in the middle of the ring. And I know tough guys, but let me tell you something, brother Donald Trump is the toughest of them all.”
“You know something, when I came here tonight, there was so much energy in this room, I felt maybe I was in Madison Square Garden getting ready to win another world title... the vibe was so intense,” he continued.
“The energy was so crazy, it felt like maybe I was gonna press that no good sticky giant over my head and slam him through the mat, Brother!”
Trump re-enters RNC with kids, grandchildren in tow
02:34
Katie Hawkinson
Donald Trump made yet another entrance at the Republican National Convention tonight, this time accompanied by several family members.
Trump is now sitting among several of his children and grandchildren, including Donald Trump Jr and Kai Trump, who both spoke on night three of the convention.
‘The only crime President Trump has committed is loving America’: Alina Habba’s tearful tribute to ‘my friend’
02:18
Gustaf Kilander
Attorney Alina Habba gave a tearful tribute to former President Donald Trump during her appearance at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night.
“I know you’re all used to hearing me shouting outside a courthouse, but tonight I want to take you behind the law and behind the headlines and share with you a side of President Trump that reveals his character, his kindness, and his commitment to saving this great country,” she said.
Read more:
Tucker Carlson claims that Trump offered to stand guard outside his house in unscripted speech to ‘leader'
02:12
Eric Garcia
Former Fox News host and conservative provocateur Tucker Carlson said that former president Donald Trump offered to stand guard at his home after demostrators came to his home in Washington after 2018.
Carlson received the biggest applause at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on the fourth and final night of the Republican National Convention ahead of Trump’s speech.
Fox News and Carlson parted ways last year, but he remains a massively popular and influential figure.
Read more:
Watch: Republican National Convention attendees react to death of Lou Dobbs
02:07
Katie Hawkinson
Tucker Carlson says Trump turned down chance to ‘inflame’ the nation, claims opponents would have done so
01:52
Katie Hawkinson
Right-wing media personality Tucker Carlson claimed Donald Trump passed up the opportunity to “inflame” the US after he was shot at his Butler, Pennsylvania rally on Saturday.
“He turned down the most obvious opportunity in politics to inflame the nation after being shot, which is an opportunity that almost every other politician I’ve ever met, and certainly his opponents, would have taken instantly,” Carlson said.
“This is the most responsible, unifying behavior of a leader, I think I’ve ever seen,” he continued.
Carlson also claimed that “Antifa” showed up at his home and that Trump offered to “stand guard” at his house the next day during the unscripted speech on Thursday night.
Tucker Carlson met with thunderous applause, cheers from crowd
01:44
Katie Hawkinson
Right-wing media personality Tucker Carlson took the stage at the Republican National Convention this evening.
The crowd met him with thunderous applause and roaring cheers.
Carlson appears to be improvising his speech, with the Fiserv Forum’s teleprompter showing a countdown timer instead of his speech text.
Speaker Mike Johnson admits he won’t be happy to allow Democratic states to keep abortion rights
01:35
Katie Hawkinson
House Speaker Mike Johnson has rejected the notion that the Republican platform on abortion means that the party is happy for Democratic states to give wide access to abortion.
“I don’t think that’s what it means at all,” he said, when asked about abortion access in blue states by Politico on Thursday. “I think it’s a recognition of the reality of the politics of the country.”
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Trump attorney Alina Habba takes the stage
01:26
Katie Hawkinson
Alina Habba, the former president’s attorney, delivered an impassioned speech in support of the former president on Thursday night.
“The last has tried to demolish President Trump, but there is no bulldozer big enough or strong enough to remove the legacy that he has built or the future he is creating,” she said.
“The only crime President Trump has committed is loving America,” Habba continued.
Earlier this year, a jury convicted Donald Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with a hush money scheme to silence adult film star Stormy Daniels, whose alleged affair with Trump threatened to derail his 2016 campaign.
Trump seated at RNC without family nearby
01:19
Katie Hawkinson
Donald Trump arrived for night four of the Republican National Convention and took his seat in the Fiserv Forum’s family box — but was not joined by any family.
The former president is currently seated without any family members nearby after his initial entrance. His son, Eric Trump, is set to take the stage within the hour.
His wife, Melania Trump, was rumored to attend tonight’s RNC programming, CNN reported earlier this evening.
Donald Trump seated with Jason Aldean and GOP Senators on night 4
01:12
Katie Hawkinson
Donald Trump took a seat in the Fiserv Forum’s family box for night four of the Republican National Convention.
The former president is sitting next to country music star Jason Aldean. The musician sparked backlash last year after one of his music videos featured a Tennessee courthouse where a mob lynched a Black teenager in 1927, NBC News reports.
Trump is also sitting among several GOP senators, including Ted Cruz and John Barrasso. As he sat down, Trump also shook hands with Representative Richard Hudson and Senator Steve Daines, who spoke earlier in the evening.
Trump takes the RNC floor to 'Back in Black' still sporting ear bandage
Friday 19 July 2024 00:57
Katie Hawkinson
Donald Trump has arrived at the Republican National Convention, walking through the venue as AC/DC’s “Back in Black” plays.
The former president, still wearing an ear bandage after being shot on Saturday, was met by a roaring crowd and a standing ovation, much like the previous three nights. Trump shook hands with attendees as he walked to his seat in the family box.
Trump is set to give a 90-minute speech within the hour to close out the convention.
Mike Pompeo criticizes Biden’s Afghanistan withdrawal
Friday 19 July 2024 00:46
Katie Hawkinson
Mike Pompeo, former CIA director and secretary of state for Donald Trump, slammed President Joe Biden for his 2021 withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.
“As an Army veteran, I want to speak to everybody who served in Afghanistan: I’m disgusted by the Biden administration’s incompetent pullout from that country.”
However, Biden has blamed the chaotic withdrawal on a Trump-era peace deal with the Taliban that Pompeo helped broker. The president said the agreement forced him to withdraw American troops, the Associated Press reports.
Mike Pompeo takes jab at Def Sec Lloyd Austin
Friday 19 July 2024 00:41
Katie Hawkinson
Mike Pompeo took a hit at Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who was hospitalized for two weeks in January because of complications from a prostate surgery he kept hidden from President Joe Biden.
“Here’s another fun fact, we never lost our secretary of defense for two weeks either,” Pompeo said at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night.
Pompeo served as Trump’s CIA director and secretary of state.
From ‘Kai Trump 2040’ to Don Jr and Eric, the Trump family has made its mark on the Republican convention
Friday 19 July 2024 00:35
John Bowden
It was around the time when one of the delegates to the RNC yelled, “Kai Trump 2040!” when the scope of the Trump takeover of the Republican Party was suddenly laid very bare.
Major-party conventions often feature family members and friends close to the person at the top of the ticket. It’s nothing new. But the Trumpification of the GOP which was on full display this week took that trend to the extreme — and made clear that the continued strength of the MAGA movement would not only persist through 2024, but well into the future.
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Billionaire originally listed as ‘everyday American’ speaker at RNC
Friday 19 July 2024 00:25
Katie Hawkinson
Diane Hendricks, a Wisconsinite and the 92nd-richest person in the world, spoke at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night.
“I’m living proof that the American dream is possible with hard work and determination,” Hendricks told attendees on Thursday night. “I grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin.”
“We need a builder back in the White House, someone who will cut the job, killing regulations, lower taxes on working families and give the power back to the American people,” she continued.
The billionaire was originally listed in the RNC programming as an “everyday American” speaker, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. However, the convention’s website now lists her name without a title on tonight’s speaker list.
JD Vance says the Republican Party is becoming pro-worker. But tonight, the RNC will feature a union buster
Friday 19 July 2024 00:19
John Bowden
The ascension of JD Vance, first to the Senate and now asDonald Trump’s running mate, is a story that’s as much about what the Republican Party does not represent as it is a story about the GOP’s evolution.
Wednesday night at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukeewas wholly oriented around Trump’s vice president. In Vance, Trump has chosed an economic populist as his partner — a strategic pick aimed at shoring up support in key areas of the Rust Belt, and other communities where manufacturing and energy are critical.
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‘Grab that gavel out of Schumer’s hands’: GOP Senate leader slams Democrats
Friday 19 July 2024 00:10
Katie Hawkinson
Senator Steve Daines, chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, called for the party to take the Senate in November.
“Help us fight back, because together, we’re going to win back the Senate,” the Montana lawmaker said. “We’re going to grab that gavel out of Schumer’s hands. We’re going to deliver a historic victory for President Trump, and we’re going to make America great again.”
Daines was one of the first speakers to kick off the final day of the RNC. Donald Trump is set to deliver the keynote speech at the end of the night.
Barron Trump: What we know about Donald Trump’s youngest son
Friday 19 July 2024 00:05
Katie Hawkinson
Donald Trump’s youngest son Barron Trump is a recent addition to the political scene, having been officially introduced by his father to supporters at a Miami rally earlier this month.
Here’s what we know about the 18-year-old:
Marco Rubio says Biden should resign if he steps down from ticket
Friday 19 July 2024 00:00
Katie Hawkinson
Senator Marco Rubio of Florida said President Joe Biden should resign from office if he removes himself from the 2024 ticket.
“The question is, if he’s not going to be their nominee because he’s not up to it, how can he be our president for the next six months?” Rubio said, according to Politico. “If there’s something wrong with you that doesn’t allow you to run for president, how can you still be there as president? If they’re going to remove him as nominee, they’ve got to remove him as president, and that’s really bad for our country.”
The president is facing continued pressure to quit the 2024 presidential race, with his allies Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer reportedly privately telling him his time is up. Biden is also grappling with a recent COVID-19 diagnosis.
Trump gloried in political violence for years. Will surviving an assassination attempt change his rhetoric?
Thursday 18 July 2024 23:50
Alex Woodward
Former president Donald Trump has promised a punishing agenda, if elected president again.
News networks should be taken off air and publishers should be thrown in jail. Top military officials committed treason, which is punishable by death. Drug offenders should be executed. Migrants are “poisoning the blood of the country,” and the “largest deportation operation in American history” could mean hundreds of thousands of people thrown in detention centers. His political opponents are “vermin” who “live within the confines of our country.”
“If I don’t get elected,” he said at a rally in Ohio in March, “it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole… that’s going to be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country.”
Read more:
Livestream: Trump to give keynote speech on final night of RNC
Thursday 18 July 2024 23:37
Katie Hawkinson
George W Bush poked fun at both Biden and Trump’s ages in speech
Thursday 18 July 2024 23:15
Amelia Neath
Former president George W Bush - who has made few public comments about the 2024 White House race - has been poking fun at the advanced ages of both Joe Biden and Donald Trump in private speeches, according to a report.
The Republican, who at 78 years old is the same age as Trump, has been known to joke in paid speeches that both Trump and Biden, 81, are too old for the job.
“I’m younger than both of the candidates, and I’m too old,” Bush said in at least one speech, a witness told USA Today.
Read on:
First major poll since assassination attempt shows Trump losing to a younger Democrat in swing states
Thursday 18 July 2024 23:00
Katie Hawkinson
Donald Trump was already leading President Joe Biden in several swing states but after the assassination attempt, a new poll shows the former president gaining even more ground – unless a younger Democrat replaces Biden.
A survey conducted by Emerson College Polling found that Trump holds a three-point lead or more over the president in seven key swing states – and most of those are an increase from polling conducted in March.
Read more about the results from The Independent’s Ariana Baio and Alicja Hagopian:
Watch moment RNC senators confront Secret Service director over Trump shooting
Thursday 18 July 2024 22:45
Katie Hawkinson
Professor’s post calling for Trump’s death goes viral — but it was totally fake
Thursday 18 July 2024 22:30
Graig Graziosi
A screenshot of a social media post that appeared to show a California Lutheran University professor calling for the death of Donald Trump went viral on Monday, but all was not be as it seemed.
Officials at the school say the post is fabricated.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the university said that the post, which was attributed to exercise science professor Louise Kelly, is a fake.
Read on:
Anti-Trump Republican ex-governor says Congressional leaders will stand up to Trump
Thursday 18 July 2024 22:08
John Bowden, Katie Hawkinson
Asa Hutchinson, a former Arkansas governor who is anti-Trump, told The Independent he thinks Congressional leaders will protect US aid to Ukraine, despite many Republicans’ opposition to it.
“We need Senate leaders to have courage,” Hutchinson told The Independent. “And we don’t know what the makeup is going to be of the Senate and the House, Democrat and Republican. So, leaders will stand up.”
Donald Trump and many of his allies have expressed that the US should severely limit, if not end, aid to Ukraine amid the war with Russia. The conflict has come up in several speeches at the Republican National Convention.
“What’s the margin of victory going to be — what’s the mandate? Is Trump campaigning on this, pulling out of Ukraine, or is it just a side issue? There’s a lot to see as to how that will develop and how much leverage Senators will have to counterbalance Trump’s message,” Hutchinson continued.
Glitter hats, golden sneakers and bandaged ears: The weird and wonderful fashions of the RNC
Thursday 18 July 2024 22:00
Michelle Del Rey
Sporting political-branded fashion has been a long-standing tradition at the Republican National Convention and this year was no exception.
While MAGA hats have now become a common sight at the event, another popular accessory has emerged this year: the ear bandage. Delegates are covering their ears in solidarity with Former President Donald Trump, who showed up at the convention this week with a bandage on his right ear, the spot where he was wounded on Saturday in an assassination attempt.
Joe Neglia, a Republican delegate from Arizona, told The Washington Post, he was first to spark the fashion trend.
“When I saw him come out Monday night — that magical moment — I thought, ‘I have to do something,’ and this is what I could do,” he told the outlet, adding he fashioned the accessory out of white paper.
It’s all part of the pageantry tied to the convention. Other fashion moments included a MAGA dress designed by Andre Soriano, who strutted down the red carpet in an American flag blazer and top hot on Monday. Then there were the pins, sneakers and oh so many hats.
Here’s a roundup of some of the best looks:
John Hinckley, who shot Ronald Reagan, condemns assassination attempt on Trump
Thursday 18 July 2024 21:45
Gustaf Kilander