Five days after a gunman tried to assassinate him at a political rally, former President Donald J. Trump on Thursday night is expected to describe his personal experience of the shooting as he calls on Americans to unify behind him, according to prepared excerpts provided by his campaign.
“As you already know, the assassin’s bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life,” Mr. Trump is expected to say at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. “So many people have asked me what happened, and therefore, I’ll tell you what happened, and you’ll never hear it from me a second time, because it’s too painful to tell.”
As he has throughout his political career, Mr. Trump is expected to again portray an America in decay, one that can only be rescued by his restoration to the White House in November. He will directly contrast President Biden’s leadership to his own, which he will portray as a time of great American strength and prosperity.
“We cannot, and will not, let this continue,” Mr. Trump is expected to say about the state of the country. “Less than four years ago, we were a great nation, and we will soon be a great nation again.”
And Mr. Trump, who lost the popular vote both when he won by electoral votes in 2016 and when he lost in 2020, will directly appeal to Americans who previously rejected his often vicious brand of politics.
“So tonight, whether you’ve supported me in the past or not, I hope you will support me in the future, because I will bring back the American dream,” Mr. Trump is expected to say.
The former president will also take direct aim at Democrats, accusing them of raising taxes and hurting Social Security and Medicare. As he often does at his rallies, Mr. Trump will conjure up the image of an “illegal immigrant invasion” at the United States’ border with Mexico and attack the Biden administration for its policies on immigration.
He will insist that immigrants surging across the border are, broadly, “coming from prisons and jails, from mental institutions and insane asylums, and terrorists at levels never seen before.” Mr. Trump often makes this claim, citing no evidence, even as the authorities have said that family units make up about 40 percent of all migrants who have entered the United States this year.
“The greatest invasion in history is taking place right here in our country,” Mr. Trump is expected to say. “They are coming in from every corner of the earth, not just from South America, but from Africa, Asia and the Middle East — they’re coming from everywhere, and this administration does nothing to stop them.”