Bandaged Trump appears at Republican convention days after assassination attempt
Trump appeared to be feeling emotional in his first public appearance since an assassination attempt, ITV News US Correspondent Dan Rivers reports
A defiant Donald Trump appeared with a bandage over his right ear at the Republican National Convention just two days after surviving an attempted assassination.
The former US president made a dramatic return to the public eye overnight at the convention in Milwaukee - his first appearance since he was shot by 20-year-old gunman Thomas Crooks on Saturday night.
A visibly emotional Trump was greeted by huge applause as delegates cheered wildly for the Republican nominee, who was formally confirmed as the party's candidate on Monday.
Ohio Senator JD Vance has been announced as the former president's choice for his running mate in November's election.
Trump appeared onscreen backstage and then emerged in the arena as musician Lee Greenwood sang “God Bless the USA.”
The former president, accompanied by a wall of Secret Service agents on Monday, did not address the crowd, but smiled silently, mouthed "thank you" and occasionally waved as Greenwood sang.
Trump raised his fist as he slowly ascended to the VIP box to join his newly announced running mate, Ohio Senator Vance, 39, to listen to the night’s remaining speeches, often with a subdued expression and muted reactions uncharacteristic for the unabashed showman.
A man who normally projects strength and seeks to dominate every room he enters showed a trace of wistfulness and vulnerability, as might befit someone coming to terms with their life being saved by a stroke of luck and a turn of the head.
ITV News Correspondent Robert Moore speaks to voters at a diner in Virginia after Saturday's assassination attempt
Trump, who is due to make his acceptance speech on Thursday, previously suggested he'd been saved "by luck or by God", and there was certainly a sense of divine intervention among many of his followers at the convention.
Trump’s campaign chiefs designed the convention to feature a softer and more optimistic message, focusing on themes that would help a divisive leader expand his appeal among moderate voters and people of colour.
On Monday, a night devoted to the economy, delegates and a national TV audience heard from speakers the Trump campaign pitched as “everyday Americans” – a single mother talking about inflation, a union member who identified himself as a lifelong Democrat now backing Trump, a small business owner, among others. Featured speakers also included black Republicans who have been at the forefront of the Trump campaign’s effort to win more votes from a core Democratic constituency.
Texas representative Wesley Hunt of Texas said rising grocery and energy prices were hurting Americans’ wallets. “We can fix this disaster,” Hunt said, by electing Trump and sending “him right back to where he belongs, the White House".
Tributes were paid on Monday night by model and rapper Amber Rose who told the convention how she had changed her mind about the former president.
"I believed the left-wing propaganda that Donald trump was a racist", she said. "My father said, 'No, he's not Amber, what are you talking about?' And when I insisted, he said, 'prove it.'
"So to prove my father wrong I did my research and looked into all things Donald Trump."
The convention resumes Tuesday when the focus shifts to immigration, an issue central to Trump’s political brand that helped endear him to the GOP base when he began his first campaign in 2015.
The assassination attempt against Trump on Saturday has taken the focus away from Biden and put it firmly back on Trump with speculation he may decide to strike a more conciliatory tone when he speaks later this week.
Caroline Sunshine, one of his advisors, says her boss will rise to this occasion.
"I think President Trump met the moment when he got back on his feet," she told ITV News.
"He's very much here in Milwaukee no schedule interruptions going on full steam ahead."
Trump is also receiving support from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who in a column for the Telegraph on Sunday said he was travelling to Milwaukee to support his friend in his "desperate hour" and to "ensure the UK’s special relationship with the US is as strong as it can be".
"But I do so for something bigger," he added. "To stand shoulder to shoulder with President Trump and the US to stand up for democracy. To say, loud and clear, that we can disagree vehemently, that we can debate, that we can thrash out of views But that resorting to violence is entirely unacceptable, regardless of your views."
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