Former President Donald Trump took the stage Thursday for the final night of the Republican National Convention, accepting the GOP presidential nomination less than a week after an assassination attempt.
Donald Trump arrives onstage during the last day of the 2024 Republican National Convention.
Trump described the assassination attempt against him on Saturday at the top of his speech, thanking Americans for their “outpouring of love and support” and recounting how “the assassin’s bullet came within a quarter-inch of taking my life.”
Trump said he “felt something hit [him] really, really hard” on his right ear and said to himself “‘wow what was that? it can only be a bullet . . . I immediately knew it was very serious, that we were under attack.”
Ahead of Trump’s speech, Melania Trump, wearing a red skirt suit, entered the arena to classical music before taking her seat in Trump’s box—though she is not expected to speak, unlike at previous conventions.
Melania made her debut just before Kid Rock performed and Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White took the stage to introduce Trump, telling the crowd “I know President Trump is a proven leader, a fearless leader, and this country was in a much better place when he was in the Oval Office.”
Trump’s son Eric Trump also spoke Thursday, painting a bleak picture of America under President Joe Biden, claiming “infrastructure [is] crumbling,” the border is “out of control,” Israel is “totally under siege” and attacking transgender rights, referring to “male athletes” who he said are “swimming in women’s sports” (attacking policies allowing transgender girls and women to compete in girls and women’s sports has been a common theme at this week’s RNC).
Earlier Thursday, retired professional wrestler Hulk Hogan gave a rousing speech, chock full of wrestling analogies, at one point performing his signature move of ripping off his T-shirt with his hands to reveal a “Trump-Vance” shirt underneath, as the crowd chanted “USA, USA.”
Hogan—who retired from wrestling in 2012 and has largely stayed out of the 2024 election until now but endorsed former President Barack Obama previously—gave a full-throated endorsement of Trump, calling him a “hero” and a “gladiator” and calling his supporters “real Americans.”
Hogan spoke around 9:45 p.m. EDT, after Trump entered the arena to AC/DC’s “Back in Black” just before 8 p.m., ahead of his 10 p.m. speech.
Former First Lady Melania Trump was spotted backstage about an hour-and-a-half after Trump arrived, according to a New York Times photo of her with the former president, one of her first official appearances on the campaign trail during her husband’s third run for president.
Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who has a checkered past with Trump after he allegedly said he hated Trump "passionately" in a leaked text message, received some of the loudest applause of all the week's speakers as he took the stage just before 9 p.m., recounting in his speech how he spoke to Trump hours after he was shot Saturday in a phone call in which Carlson said Trump told him he was "proud" of the crowd for not running from the gunshots.
The speech will mark the first time Trump has spoken publicly since he was shot at his rally Saturday in Pennsylvania (he spoke at a private event in Milwaukee on Wednesday, telling supporters “God was with me.”)
Trump has attended the prime-time speeches during the previous three days of the convention, with a bandage covering the bullet wound to his right ear; he appeared visibly emotional as he entered the arena Monday, marking his first major public appearance since the assassination attempt.
Former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson, retired wrestler Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White are among the speakers scheduled for prime-time addresses before Trump takes the stage.
Former First Lady Melania Trump arrives.
Professional wrestler Hulk Hogan speaks during the final day of the Republican National Convention.
Kid Rock performs during the final day of the Republican National Convention.
Dana White, CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship, speaks.
Trump rewrote his speech in the wake of the assassination attempt to focus less on attacking President Joe Biden and more on a message of unity, he told The Washington Examiner over the weekend. “This is a chance to bring the whole country, even the whole world, together,” Trump said.
Trump’s speech comes as the presidential race could undergo another drastic change in the coming days as some top Democrats expect President Joe Biden will end his reelection bid following the backlash from his June 27 debate performance, Axios reported. Trump will accept the nomination Thursday as he has widened his lead over Biden to three points—a 1.5-point increase since the June 27 debate, according to RealClearPolitics’ polling average.
Trump’s speech comes after Ohio Sen. JD Vance made his national debut as Trump’s running mate at the convention Wednesday, delivering a speech that leaned heavily on his Rust Belt roots in an appeal to Midwestern voters. Tuesday’s convention line-up featured several ex-Trump foes, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who endorsed Trump for the first time since she ran against him in this year’s GOP primary.
JD Vance Highlights ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ Roots—And Praises Trump—In Debut RNC Speech (Forbes)
Nikki Haley Endorses Donald Trump At Day 2 Of Republican Convention (Forbes)