MILWAUKEE – Former President donald trump appeared in public for the first time since the attempt on his life two days ago, appearing on stage unannounced at the Republican National Convention with a white bandage on his right ear.
Trump took the stage to raucous applause from the 2,500 delegates and other attendees who named him their presidential candidate for the third time on Monday, while country singer Lee Greenwood performed a live rendition of “Good Bless the USA,” a rally staple. of Trump and the Make America Great Again Movement.
Trump did not address the crowd. He clapped his hands and looked stoic as they applauded. He murmured, “Thank you.” When Greenwood finished, the audience shouted, “Fight! To fight! Fight!” — a nod to Trump’s raised fist after a gunman tried to kill him at a campaign rally Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Trump sat through the rest of the program alongside close allies, including his new running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. Eric Trump.
Before Trump’s appearance, the attempt on his life was more of a footnote than a focus of the RNC convention, which kicked off Monday in Milwaukee with an explosion of sequins, cowboy boots, pointy stilettos and everything MAGA . There were scattered sartorial nods to the instantly historic photo of Secret Service agents ushering Trump off the stage with his pumped fist and an American flag in the background.
“Accused. Stuck. Condemned. Outlet. Still Standing,” read one T-shirt with the image — worn by a guy who also sported a gold bust of Trump in a tiny red MAGA hat dangling from a chain around his neck. Another woman had her photo pressed into a huge red satin skirt.
The evening’s speakers praised Trump for surviving what the former president said was a bullet that grazed the top tip of his right ear. The bullet was captured in a New York Times photo whizzing past Trumpmoments before police killed the shooter.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), in his prime-time remarks, called Trump an “American lion.”
Teamsters president Sean O’Brien called him “a tough son of a bitch.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) thanked God “that his hand was on President Trump” after “evil came to the man we so admire and love.”
The former president will officially accept the party’s nomination with a speech on Thursday, after he and the RNC refused to postpone the convention following the attack that left a rally attendee dead.
One delegate described the general mood at the convention as optimistic despite the circumstances.
“It’s positive, unifying, energizing, inspiring and uplifting,” said Oklahoma delegate Suzanne Reynolds. “I think it brought more people together in the delegation to realize that we have a country to save.”
