Donald Trump shooting: Former president to get hero’s welcome as convention begins
Donald Trump has been formally selected as GOP’s 2024 presidential candidate as the Republican National Convention begins.
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Donald Trump is set for a hero’s welcome at the Republican National Convention after winning the GOP’s nomination for the 2024 presidential election.
The RNC, which began with a moment of silence for the victims Trump shooting, saw the announcement of Ohio Senator JD Vance as the vice presidential candidate.
It came after the former president was handed a stunning legal victory with a Florida court dismissing charges in the classified documents case.
Mr Trump celebrated the decision, saying it should be followed by the “dismissal of ALL Witch Hunts” to unite the country “after the horrific events on Saturday”.
A stunned Donald Trump said he was “supposed to be dead” after he was shot in what the FBI is investigating as an act of terrorism by a “loner” gunman armed with explosives.
In his first interview about the attempted assassination, the former president said it was a “miracle” he turned his head a split second before Thomas Crooks opened fire at his Pennsylvania rally and struck his ear.
Trump said his scheduled speech at the Convention has been thrown out after the assassination attempt and completely rewritten to focus on unifying the country.
DONALD TRUMP NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENCY
The Republican Party formally confirmed Donald Trump as its nominee to take on President Joe Biden in November’s election. The ex-president clinched a majority of the delegates at the party’s national convention, after his son Eric, representing Florida, put him over the threshold, to cheers on the convention floor.
TRUMP HAS SELECTED RUNNING MATE
Donald Trump has selected JD Vance as running mate in the 2024 presidential election.
The announcement comes after Senator Marco Rubio and North Dakota governor Doug Burgum were informed they will not be Trump’s running mate.
Trump, 78, announced his pick on the first day of the Republican Party convention in Milwaukee, an extravaganza turbocharged by the attempted assassination of the former president.
After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio. J.D. honorably served our…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) July 15, 2024
Seen as the standard-bearer for a new kind of populism that has come to the fore under Trump, 39-year-old Vance embraces the ex-president’s isolationist, anti-immigration America First movement.
READ MORE: TRUMP MAKES VICE PRESIDENT PICK
TRUMP REWRITES RNC SPEECH AFTER SHOOTING
Donald Trump has thrown out his convention speech after narrowly escaping death.
The former president completely rewrote his remarks to call for a national effort on unifying the country, he told the Washington Examiner.
“The speech I was going to give on Thursday was going to be a humdinger,” Trump said. “Had this not happened, this would’ve been one of the most incredible speeches” aimed mostly at the policies of President Joe Biden.
“Honestly, it’s going to be a whole different speech now.”
Trump said he wants take advantage of the failed assassination attempt to bring the country together.
TRUMP DEMANDS SECRET SERVICE FOR RFK JR
Former President Donald Trump called for independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to receive Secret Service protection.
“In light of what is going on in the world today, I believe it is imperative that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. receive Secret Service protection — immediately,” the 78-year-old former president wrote on Truth Social.
“Given the history of the Kennedy family, this is the obvious right thing to do!” he added.
Kennedy, who is running for president against former President Trump and President Biden, said last year his request for Secret Service protection had been denied.
It is a hopeful sign for our country when a political opponent calls for one's protection. Maybe our country can unite after all. pic.twitter.com/Nfd3yXAh1F
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) July 15, 2024
US SECRET SERVICE AGREES TO REVIEW AFTER FAILURE
Under growing pressure for a massive security failure, the US Secret Service vowed to co-operate with an independent review after a shooter was allowed to open fire on Donald Trump.
The 78-year-old former president was injured but survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania Saturday, a brazen attack that shocked a nation already deeply polarised ahead of the November vote.
“The Secret Service is working with all involved Federal, state and local agencies to understand what happened, how it happened, and how we can prevent an incident like this from ever taking place again,” the agency’s director Kimberly Cheatle said in a statement.
“We understand the importance of the independent review announced by President Biden yesterday and will participate fully. We will also work with the appropriate Congressional committees on any oversight action,” Cheatle added.
TRUMP CRIMINAL CASE TOSSED IN STUNNING WIN
Donald Trump was handed a stunning victory when a Florida judge dismissed his criminal indictment over the handling of classified documents.
In a massive boost to his chances of re-election, the court ruled the appointment of Special Counsel Jack Smith was unconstitutional and improper.
With the two remaining criminal cases delayed until after the election, the only legal conviction against Mr Trump remains the New York hush money trial which itself could be tossed out after the US Supreme Court ruled on presidential immunity.
The seismic decision by Judge Aileen Cannon on Monday, local time, came just days after Mr Trump survived an assassination attempt.
Mr Trump celebrated the decision, saying it should be followed by the “dismissal of ALL Witch Hunts”.
“As we move forward in Uniting our Nation after the horrific events on Saturday, this dismissal of the Lawless Indictment in Florida should be just the first step,” he said on Truth Social.
ANALYSIS SHOWS THREE WEAPONS FIRED
According to CNN, forensic analysis suggests as many as three weapons were fired at the Trump rally. The FBI has said the shooter acted alone.
CNN is reporting that the first three shots were “consistent with alleged weapon A, the next five were consistent with alleged weapon B, and the final acoustic impulse was emitted by a possible weapon C”.
The outlet reports the audio analysis was done by Catalin Grigoras, director of the National Center for Media Forensics at the University of Colorado in Denver, and Cole Whitecotton, Senior Professional Research Associate at the same institution.
TRUMP: ‘I’M SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD
Speaking on his plane to the New York Post, with a bandage covering his right ear, Trump recalled how he “happened to not only turn but to turn at the exact right time and in just the right amount” as Crooks tried to kill him.
“If I only half-turn, it hits the back of the brain. The other way goes right through [the skull],” Trump said.
“The chances of my making a perfect turn are probably one tenth of one per cent, so I’m not supposed to be here … I’m supposed to be dead.”
Trump said he appreciated receiving a call from his bitter rival in the wake of the shooting, describing him as “very nice”.
He also told the New York Post that the President was considering ordering the Department of Justice to drop its two federal criminal cases against Trump.
Recalling the terrifying moment, Trump said his defiant reaction – in which he raised his fist and yelled at his supporters to fight – came as he wanted to keep speaking to his supporters.
“A lot of people say it’s the most iconic photo they’ve ever seen,” Trump said.
“They’re right and I didn’t die. Usually you have to die to have an iconic picture.”
He said the attempted assassination would change his bid to return to the White House, starting at this week’s convention where he promised a speech “that is more unifying”.
“I basically had a speech that was an unbelievable rip-roarer,” Trump said.
“I think it would be very bad if I got up and started going wild about how horrible everybody is, and how corrupt and crooked, even if it’s true.”
His vice presidential pick on Tuesday was expected to come down to Ohio senator JD Vance, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum or Florida senator Marco Rubio.
Trump reportedly held in-person meetings with them in the hours before he was shot.
For months, he had been teasing the outcome of a process he compared to The Apprentice – the reality show that helped propel him to the White House – and even suggested he could make the announcement at the weekend rally in Pennsylvania.
But Trump’s team planned for the decision to be revealed on the opening night of the convention, with the Republican saying he could not “allow a ‘shooter’, or potential assassin, to force change to scheduling or anything else”.
The three candidates posted messages of support for Trump on social media in the wake of the attack, with Senator Vance unleashing on the Biden campaign by claiming their “rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination”.
Mr Burgum was more circumspect in his response, saying that Trump was “stronger than his enemies” and “showed it”, while Senator Rubio said: “God protected President Trump.”
Former president Barack Obama’s campaign strategist David Axelrod said Senator Vance’s claim “ought to disqualify him in the eyes of the Trump campaign”.
“Wrong vibe in that moment … Trump probably doesn’t want a shoot-from-the-hip VP,” he said.
Trump has repeatedly said he wanted to choose “somebody that can be a good president”, who could take over as America’s commander-in-chief if required while also drawing a contrast to Vice President Kamala Harris.
In an interview a week ago, however, Trump slightly changed his tune on his requirements.
“It’s going to be a great vice president, meaning a person that can do a fantastic job as president, because you always have to think of that first,” he told Fox News.
“And then, second, somebody that helps you get elected. And there’s nothing wrong with that.”
KING CHARLES WRITES TO TRUMP
Buckingham Palace has said that King Charles has written to former US president Donald Trump after he survived an assassination attempt.
The King’s message was delivered via the UK embassy in Washington, with the contents to be kept private.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to Trump, expressing his condolences for the other victim and their family, and wishing the former president and the injured a quick recovery.
Starmer said on X that he was “appalled by the shocking scenes” at the rally.
SHOOTER’S MOTIVE YET TO BE IDENTIFIED
Thomas Crooks killed 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, a former volunteer fire chief who was hailed as a “real-life superhero” by his daughter Allyson.
“He shielded my body from the bullet that came at us,” she said. “He loved his family. He truly loved us enough to take a real bullet for us.”
David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, were also shot and remained in hospital.
Senior FBI official Robert Wells said the assassination attempt was being investigated as a potential domestic terrorism attack, although authorities were yet to identify Crooks’ motive for the shooting he carried out with an AR-15-style rifle that was owned by his father.
He did not have a history of mental illness or interactions with law enforcement.
Former classmates of the 20 year old – who worked at a nursing home and was a registered Republican – said he was a bullied loner at school who belonged to a gun club.
After Crooks was gunned down by Secret Service snipers, authorities found rudimentary explosive devices in his car and at his home. The FBI said he was acting alone.
Amid reports that a local police officer confronted Crooks before he opened fire from the rooftop of a building next to Trump’s rally, the Secret Service sidestepped questions over its failure to prevent the attack. Mr Biden ordered an independent review of the incident.
Speaking from the Oval Office, he said: “We cannot, we must not, go down this road in America … We can’t allow this violence to be normalised.”
“In America, we resolve our differences at the ballot box,” the President said.
TRUMP RETURNS TO CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Trump returns to the campaign trail as the star of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee – a gathering meant to fire up the grassroots that has instead been overshadowed by the weekend attempt on his life.
The former president is carrying Republican hopes into November’s election and, days after an assassin’s bullets flew by him, is set to be anointed as the party’s champion to face his Democratic successor, Joe Biden.
Some 50,000 Republicans are descending on the shores of Lake Michigan for the four-day celebration of all things Trump, culminating in his acceptance speech on Thursday.
Before that Trump will unveil his vice-presidential pick, a high-stakes moment that could set the tone for the final stretch of his campaign.
Yet the Trump shooting is really the only story in town.
The Milwaukee convention is very much a family affair, with the former president’s two eldest sons, Don Jr and Eric, due to take the podium.
Former first lady Melania Trump is also set to make a rare appearance, but is not scheduled to speak.
REPUBLICANS PRAY FOR TRUMP
At a prayer vigil in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Robert Benning’s eyes water when he talks about Donald Trump surviving this weekend’s assassination attempt.
“When he got shot, I was like, ‘Oh man.’ I damn near cried – and then he got up … That proves how much of a fighter he is,” the 64-year-old said, gathered at a park in the Midwestern city with other supporters to pray for the Republican presidential candidate.
The Sunday gathering was held downtown, just steps away from the Republican National Convention that kicks off Monday and will officially seal Trump’s nomination as the party’s candidate against President Joe Biden in November.
Faithful prayed for those on both sides of the political spectrum, even if the event still carried a partisan tone and the occasional culture war rhetoric.
“I just bless the Democratic Party. I bless the opposition. I pray that you would show them where they are in error. I pray that you would show them where they are opposing their own creator,” said Patrick Casper.
Trump himself has said God “prevented the unthinkable from happening.” He survived the shooting with injuries, while two others were injured and one person, in addition to the shooter, was killed.
The ex-president’s base includes the religious right, though he himself only went to church sporadically while in office.
– with AFP.
Originally published as Donald Trump shooting: Former president to get hero’s welcome as convention begins
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