Donald Trump and JD Vance officially accepted the GOP at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Thursday evening.
Melania Trump joined her husband as he signed the paperwork, making a rare public appearance. She has been largely absent from the campaign trail and had yet to appear publicly at the convention.
Trump is set to deliver the keynote speech this evening, following major speakers Tucker Carlson, Eric Trump and Hulk Hogan. The former president promised his remarks will be more moderate in tone after he called for cooler rhetoric after he survived an assassination attempt on Saturday night.
The former president, still sporting a bandaged ear, entered the convention on night four to a standing ovation as AC/DC’s “Back in Black” played.
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.
Also addressing the convention on Wednesday was Donald Trump Jr and his daughter Kai Trump – the former president’s eldest grandchild, 17 – who received a warm welcome on stage and praised her grandfather as a “normal” senior who gives her “candy and soda when her parents aren’t looking.”
Key Points
- When is Donald Trump speaking tonight?
- Livestream: Trump to give RNC keynote speech
- Tucker Carlson says Trump turned down chance to ‘inflame’ the nation, claims opponents would have done so
- Trump gloried in political violence for years. Will surviving an assassination attempt change his rhetoric?
- From ‘Kai Trump 2040’ to Don Jr and Eric, the Trump family has made its mark on the RNC
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.”
Read more:
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.
Read more:
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.
Read more:
‘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
John Hinckley Jr, who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981, has denounced the assassination attempt of Donald Trump.
“Violence is not the way to go. Give peace a chance,” Hinckley wrote on X on Wednesday, prompting a flood of sarcastic replies.
Former president Trump was struck in the ear by a bullet at a campaign rally in Butler,Pennsylvania last Saturday.
Read more:
Analysis: Choosing JD Vance shows how much Trump believes he’s going to win
Thursday 18 July 2024 21:30
Oliver O'Connell
Eric Garcia writes:
Trump’s decision to pick Vance — a MAGA warrior who ardently opposes abortion and also opposes supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia — shows that Trump feels little need to do the dance of deference to the defeated. That’s a dance the presidential nominee traditionally performs once the primary ends.
Read on...
RNC night 4: What to expect
Thursday 18 July 2024 21:18
Katie Hawkinson
This evening, delegates will gather for the final night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Donald Trump is set to give his much-anticipated keynote speech at the end of night, around 9pm local time. He’s scheduled to speak for 90 minutes.
However, several other major speakers will take the stage ahead of the former president. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is slated to speak just before 6:30 pm local time, while right-wing media personality Tucker Carlson will take the stage roughly an hour later.
Eric Trump is also set to speak ahead of his father near the end of the evening.
JD Vance a ‘hypocrite’ who ‘adopted the MAGA mindset wholesale’, says law school roommate
Thursday 18 July 2024 21:00
Oliver O'Connell
Ohio junior senator and vice-presidential nominee JD Vance is a “hypocrite” who “sold his soul” and will unquestioningly help advance twice-impeached former president Donald Trump’s hard-right agenda if the pair manage to take the White House in November.
That’s according to attorney Josh McLaurin, who spoke to The Independent about his former Yale Law School roommate.
Justin Rohrlich has the story.
ICYMI: Giuliani takes a fall and tumbles into chairs while walking RNC floor
Thursday 18 July 2024 20:30
Oliver O'Connell
Rudy Giuliani took a tumble while walking through the Fiserv Forum, where the Republican National Convention is taking place.
Giuliani was walking up an aisle in the main convention hall when he suddenly fell sideways into a row of chairs before falling onto the floor, video on social media showed.
Katie Hawkinson reports.
Biden and Trump’s ages mocked by George W Bush — who is slightly younger than both...
Thursday 18 July 2024 20:15
Oliver O'Connell
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.
Amelia Neath reports.
Donald Trump to give keynote speech tonight
Thursday 18 July 2024 20:05
Katie Hawkinson
Donald Trump will give the keynote speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this evening to close out the event.
Trump is set to take the stage at 9 pm local time and is expected to speak for 90 minutes. The former president said the attempted assassination over the weekend inspired him to change his speech at the convention.
“I had all prepared an extremely tough speech, really good, all about the corrupt, horrible administration,” Trump told the New York Post earlier this week. “But I threw it away.”
“I want to try to unite our country,” he continued.
Don Jr wants ‘veto power’ on transition hiring if Trump gets into White House
Thursday 18 July 2024 20:00
Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump Jr has said that he wants “veto power” over hiring decisions to weed out the “bad actors” if his father wins a second term in the White House, according to a report.
The former president’s eldest son made the comments during an Axios event at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday. Trump Jr said while he doesn’t want a role for himself in a possible second Trump administration, he does want the power to “block the bad actors.”
“I don’t want to pick a single person for a position of power, all I want to do is block the guys that would be a disaster,” he told the outlet.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Trump losing to younger Democrat in swing states, first major poll since assassination attempt shows
Thursday 18 July 2024 19:45
Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump was already leading President Joe Biden in several swing states but after