Donald Trump was celebrated Tuesday, July 16, at the Republican National Convention by former rivals who just months ago leveled harsh critiques about him. This show of unity contrasts with the divisions increasingly ripping through the Democratic Party.
Nikki Haley, the former UN ambassador who was Trump’s final challenger in the GOP primary, directly addressed her supporters after taking the stage to a mix of cheers and boos. "My message to them is simple: You don’t have to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him," Haley said.
She was followed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a onetime Trump ally turned primary rival who has worked to rebuild his relationship with the former president since dropping out of the primary. "Donald Trump has been demonized. He’s been sued. He’s been prosecuted. And he nearly lost his life," DeSantis told the crowd. "We cannot let him down. And we cannot let America down."
Such overtures are typical in political conventions where the purpose is often to bring a party together after bitter primaries. But the Haley and DeSantis appearances were particularly notable given the personal animosity that defined this year’s GOP contest – much of that being directed by Trump at Haley and DeSantis.
The displays of unity stood in stark contrast to the dynamic facing Democrats, many of whom are increasingly uncertain that President Joe Biden is the right choice to take on Trump in the November election.
DeSantis was once seen as best positioned to challenge Trump's position at the top of the party. As a presidential candidate, he was slow to criticize Trump directly before eventually accusing him of repeatedly failing to follow through on his promises.
Haley, meanwhile, painted Trump as chaotic and suggested the 78-year-old was too old to serve another term. Unlike DeSantis, she did not immediately endorse Trump after she dropped out, instead waiting a few months to announce he had her vote.
Biden's campaign resurrected Haley's criticisms Tuesday. Austin Weatherford, a spokesperson for the campaign, said in a statement, “Ambassador Haley said it best herself: someone who doesn’t respect our military, doesn’t know right from wrong, and 'surrounds himself in chaos' can’t be president."
Several speakers spotlighted immigration, a key element of former Trump ’s political brand that helped endear him to the GOP base when he began his first campaign in 2015.
Trump has criticized the unprecedented number of migrants entering the country illegally through the US border with Mexico. The numbers of unauthorized crossings have fallen abruptly after Biden issued a rule suspending many asylum claims at the border.
At rallies and other campaign events, Trump has pointed to examples of migrants who committed heinous crimes and has blamed migration for the trafficking of drugs like fentanyl, even though federal data suggests many people smuggling fentanyl across the border are US citizens. He has vowed to carry out the largest deportation operation in US history.
Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric has also strayed into talking points not backed by evidence, including unfounded claims that migrants are entering the country to vote in the 2024 election.
Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the House majority leader, made that statement in his remarks, declaring, "Biden and Harris want illegals to vote now that they’ve opened up the border."
Trump's survival of an attempted assassination Saturday at a rally in Pennsylvania was on the minds of many inside the hall. One of the delegates in the crowd could be seen with a folded white piece of paper over his ear – an apparent tribute to the bandage Trump wore when he entered the hall Monday to a roaring crowd.
Trump was again wearing a bandage when he arrived Tuesday night, appearing even earlier in the arena than he did the night before. Trump entered a few minutes after his newly chosen running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance.
Scalise, who was injured in a politically motivated shooting in 2017 while he was practicing for a charity baseball game, spoke of his own experience when he touched on Trump's attack. "While I was fighting for my life, Donald Trump was one of the first to come to console my family at the hospital. That’s the kind of leader he is. Courageous under fire, compassionate towards others," Scalise said.
In the wake of Saturday’s attempt on Trump’s life, there was a heightened focus on security at the convention, which drew thousands of people to downtown Milwaukee, including a number of high-profile elected officials.
On Tuesday, five Ohio police officers who were in Wisconsin for the convention shot a man who was in a knife fight near the convention, killing him, Milwaukee’s police chief said.