MILWAUKEE: Donald Trump on Thursday formally accepted the Republican Party's nomination for president just days after surviving an assassination attempt at a campaign rally.
“We will have an incredible victory and begin the greatest four years in the history of our country,” Trump said at the Republican convention in Milwaukee.
It was his first speech since a 20-year-old man shot him, causing a minor injury to his ear but killing a bystander, during a demonstration last weekend.
“I'm running to be president of all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America,” Trump said, still wearing a bandage over his ear.
Trump, who is expected to speak for about 90 minutes, took the stage to chants of “USA” from a crowd whose members have spoken of him in godlike terms.
Among the warm-up acts were 1980s wrestling icon Hulk Hogan and conspiracy theorist and far-right media guru Tucker Carlson, who described Trump's survival as a historic moment.
In the assassination attempt, Trump became “the leader of a nation,” Carlson said.
Trump, 78, has left behind a torrent of scandals, his unprecedented attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden and his 34 felony convictions in May at a criminal trial in New York.
Now, with Republicans more united than ever behind him, he is increasingly optimistic about an unexpected return to power.
On Friday, Biden, 81, appeared to be on the verge of being forced by his own Democratic Party to step down and make way for Vice President Kamala Harris or another candidate, as fears mount that his poor physical health could lead to defeat in November.
Trump's senior adviser Jason Miller told AFP that “nothing will fundamentally change” for Trump if Biden withdraws.
Trump's family was in attendance, with his son Eric encouraging the crowd to chant “fight, fight, fight!”
Trump's wife, Melania, who was absent for much of the campaign, arrived to applause but did not speak, a notable break with American political convention at such events.
Martial arts CEO, preacher
Supporters have been lining up all week to applaud the former president for his bravery since the weekend attack by a gunman at a rally in Pennsylvania.
Among those attending the convention was Trump's longtime friend Dana White, CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Trump has attended multiple UFC fights in his bid to appeal to younger male voters.
In a different vein, evangelical preacher Franklin Graham (whose father was a spiritual advisor to several American presidents) led a lengthy prayer for Trump.
As Biden still reels from the fallout from his disastrous debate performance against Trump last month, polls show a gap gradually opening up in the long-tight race.
The Republican campaign has even been talking up Trump's chances in Democratic strongholds like Minnesota and Virginia, which could force Biden to devote funds and personnel to defending his “blue wall” in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Total control
The party’s four-day convention opened Monday after Trump won primaries in nearly every state. The aura of festive unity contrasts sharply with the 2016 edition, hampered by partisan divisions, and a second appearance in 2020 slowed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The program was designed around his image, with themes for each day revolving around his motto “Make America Great Again.”
The week also saw Trump name right-wing Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate.
The 39-year-old author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” a bestselling memoir about growing up poor in working-class America, is a former Trump critic who became one of his staunchest supporters.
Trump himself seemed exhausted after his 2020 election defeat, his refusal to accept the results and his supporters' storming of the US Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of the vote.
But he has since reshaped the Republican Party in his own image, installing close allies in key positions (including his daughter-in-law Lara Trump on the Republican National Committee) and crushing dissent.
