Republican National Convention: Leaked video reveals Trump call with Biden, RFK Jr
Secretly recorded video exposed private details of Donald Trump’s conversations with Joe Biden and RFK Jr after assassination attempt. Follow updates.
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Donald Trump has received a hero’s welcome at the Republican convention on a day of drama in which criminal charges against him were dropped and he unveiled his vice presidential pick for November’s US election.
In his first public appearance since he was shot two days earlier, the former president emerged with a bandage covering his right ear, pumping his fist and thanking his supporters.
Trump was joined by Ohio senator JD Vance, the 39-year-old he anointed as his successor by picking him as his running mate to help “save this country” and defeat Joe Biden, in a choice that took on remarkable new significance after his attempted assassination.
Vance – who once called Trump “America’s Hitler” – said he told him: “You’re the guy who could help me in the best way. You can help me govern, you can help me win.”
TRUMP OFFERS RFK JR SOMETHING ‘BIG’ IN LEAKED VIDEO
Robert F Kennedy Jr apologised to Donald Trump after a private phone call between the pair was leaked online.
The former president appeared to offer RFK Jr something “big”, and described the bullet ripping off a chunk of his ear.
Mr Trump also revealed part of his call with President Joe Biden, who asked how the former president chose to move his head at the right time.
“I just turned my head to show the chart and something wrapped me, it, it sound like a giant, like the world’s largest mosquito,” Mr Trump said. “And it was. It was a bullet. What they call that, an AR-15 or something. That’s a big gun. Pretty tough guns right?”
It appeared Mr Trump and JFK Jr discussed “something wrong” with the vaccination system in the US, suggesting a potential role in his future administration focusing on health.
“I would love you to do so, and I think it would be so good for you, and so big for you, and we’re going to win,” Mr Trump said.
For context, here is the now deleted post that includes the phone call between Robert F Kennedy & Donald Trump: https://t.co/CWnrAM00YOpic.twitter.com/bhEiWnpxSu
— 🇺🇸🎯 (@KaraKryptonite) July 16, 2024
DONALD TRUMP A ‘CHANGED MAN’
Donald Trump is a changed man, according to his son, who says his brush with death will “moderate” his instincts as a fighter.
Donald Trump Jr, speaking on the sidelines of the Republican convention, said he believed the new version of the former and potentially future US president would last.
“My father will always be a fighter. You know, that’s never gonna change. But he’s going to do, I think his best, to moderate that where it needs to be,” he said.
“He’s never going to stop being Trump when attacked. That’s what makes him an effective leader because he doesn’t cower under fire, quite literally. He’s defiant under that. So he’s never going to change that.”
“But I think in the course of daily action, you can still change. There’s a time and a place for all of those things and I think he’ll be able to do both.”
After Trump’s brush with death on the weekend, he said he would tone down his speech to accept the Republican nomination later this week, bringing a message of unity instead of an all-out attack on the Biden administration.
His son said the speech would be “very different” as he tried to “de-escalate some of that rhetoric”.
PERSON SHOT AND KILLED NEAR RNC
A homeless man has reportedly been shot and killed by police on the outskirts of the Republican convention in Milwaukee.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel confirmed that an out-of-town police officer -- who was in the city as part of heightened security for the convention -- had shot the man.
The incident unfolded almost 2km from the secure perimeter surrounding the event venue.
A massive law enforcement presence covered Milwaukee this week in the aftermath of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
Local talk show host Dan O’Donnell said the sister of the man who died said he was homeless and “bipolar schizophrenic”. She reportedly said that he was shot “when he flashed his knife”.
Milwaukee TV station TMJ4 reported that two men had been seen fighting with knives at the scene.
TRUMP IN ‘TOP FORM’ MEETING BOJO
Former British prime minister Boris Johnson was pictured meeting with Trump in Milwaukee.
He said he was in “top form after the shameful attempt on his life”.
Mr Johnson used his meeting to continue his behind-the-scenes push for Trump to continue America’s steadfast support for Ukraine in its war against Russia if he wins November’s election.
“We discussed Ukraine and I have no doubt that he will be strong and decisive in supporting that country and defending democracy,” the former prime minister said.
Trump’s spokeswoman said he described Mr Johnson as a “very fine guy”.
Great to meet President Trump who is on top form after the shameful attempt on his life. We discussed Ukraine and I have no doubt that he will be strong and decisive in supporting that country and defending democracy. pic.twitter.com/OEVZPZsRE1
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) July 16, 2024
BIDEN PLAN TO SECURE CANDIDACY
Joe Biden’s candidacy for November’s election could be locked in within a fortnight - far earlier than expected - as part of a controversial plan to completely extinguish the internal rebellion against the US President.
The Democratic Party is planning to hold a virtual roll call to officially nominate Mr Biden in a fortnight, which would mean the party’s convention that starts on August 19 would be merely a ceremonial confirmation.
The move was initially considered to ensure the party’s candidate was on the ballot across the country, with some states mandating earlier nomination deadlines.
But it is now being used by allies of the 81-year-old to shore up his position after weeks of debate about whether he would be capable of serving for another four years.
While the attempted assassination of Donald Trump quietened the push for Mr Biden to drop out, the virtual roll call plan appeared to revive the internal battle.
Some congressional Democrats even circulated a letter which said there was “no legal justification” to nominate him before the convention and called for the party to “refrain from any extraordinary procedures that could be perceived as curtailing legitimate debate”.
“People are back to being angry at Biden and a push to sign on to this letter is going around ... the ‘replace Biden’ movement is back,” a House Democrat told Axios.
WILD NEW VIDEO SHOWS TRUMP SHOES FLY
A new angle of the assassination attempt shows Donald Trump’s shoes fly as the former president is tackled to safety amid gunfire.
The new angle from behind the stage, obtained by WBEN, shows the immediate aftermath of the shot as Trump is shielded by Secret Service agents.
His shoes, jolted from his feet by the impact of the protective tackle, can be seen thrown off the stage by one of the agents.
Trump grabs his red MAGA hat and can be heard asking for his shoes before giving his famous fist pump and screaming “fight, fight, fight”.
Holy smokes! Trump's shoes got literally knocked off by the Secret Service: pic.twitter.com/Wvg5RmVmrh
— Wojciech Pawelczyk (@WojPawelczyk) July 16, 2024
CHUNK OF TRUMP’S EAR BLOWN OFF: DOC REVEALS
Dr Ronny Jackson, who treated Donald Trump after he was shot in a failed assassination attempt, revealed the former president had “a little bit” of his ear blown off.
“I checked his ear out. I dressed his ear up this morning,” Dr Jackson said.
“He was lucky. It was far enough away from his head that there was no concussive effect from the bullet and it just took the top of his ear off a little bit..”
“It was bleeding like crazy because the ear is pretty vascular and bleeds pretty badly.
“I bandaged it up pretty good this morning. It’s also not like a clean laceration like you would have with a knife or a blade. It’s a bullet track going by. “
“It’s going to granulate and heal in. he’s not going to need anything done to it. It’s going to be fine.”
LISTEN: Dr. Ronny Jackson discusses the assessment he did on Donald Trumps' ear after the assassination attempt on him:
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 16, 2024
"I checked his ear out. I dressed his ear up this morning.. It was far enough away from his head that there was no concussive effects from the bullet and it… pic.twitter.com/82prn4Zg7H
BIDEN ADMITS ‘BULLSEYE’ COMMENT A MISTAKE
Amid jubilant scenes on the opening night of the Republican convention in Milwaukee, the US President admitted it was a mistake to say he wanted Trump “in the bullseye” a week before he was shot during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
But Mr Biden maintained Trump posed a “threat to democracy”, saying: “Do you just not say anything because it may incite somebody?”
‘A LOT OF PEOPLE WILL FOLLOW TRUMP’
In the wake of the incident, as Trump pivoted from his aggressive anti-Biden message to a campaign of unity, former House Republican speaker Kevin McCarthy said in an exclusive interview that it could deliver the party a clean sweep of Congress and the presidency.
“We’re going to find that President Trump has people who have never thought about voting Republican who will vote for President Trump,” he said.
“President Trump’s unique in the nature where he goes, a lot of people will follow.”
ELON MUSK DONATES $66M to TRUMP’S CAMPAIGN
On the day the 78-year-old former president was confirmed as the party’s nominee, he received a major boost from Elon Musk, the world’s richest man who decided to donate a whopping $US45m ($A66m) to his campaign every month.
JUDGE DISMISSES FEDERAL CHARGES AGAINST TRUMP
That came after an even bigger breakthrough, with a judge dismissing the federal charges laid over his allegedly illegal effort to retain classified documents and impede efforts to get them back after he left the White House in 2020.
In a stunning decision, US District Judge Aileen Cannon threw out the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith – who was tapped by the Department of Justice to independently investigate – because she said he was not lawfully appointed.
Despite a long history of special counsel investigations, she said Mr Smith was a “private citizen exercising the full power of a United States Attorney, and with very little oversight or supervision”, which she decided was in violation of the US Constitution.
In a social media post, Trump hailed the “dismissal of the lawless indictment”. He said it needed to be “followed quickly by the dismissal of ALL the witch hunts”, pointing to two other sets of criminal charges over his effort to overturn his election defeat in 2020.
Trump is also set to be sentenced in September after he became the first president in history to be convicted of a crime in his New York hush money trial.
But Mr Smith vowed to appeal the bombshell ruling which his spokesman said “deviates from the uniform conclusion of all previous courts”.
VANCE ACCUSES BIDEN OF TRYING TO JAIL HIS OPPOSITION
Senator Vance, in his first interview as the vice presidential candidate, accused Mr Biden of trying to “throw his political opposition in jail”.
He acknowledged he was “certainly sceptical” of Trump before he was elected in 2016, having described him as “cultural heroin” because “he makes some feel better for a bit … but he cannot fix what ails them, and one day they’ll realise it”.
But the Ohio senator said the success of Trump’s first term in power changed his mind, and that the Republican now had “a very good sense of humour about it”.
Unveiling Senator Vance as his running mate, Trump said he was the “best person suited to assume the position”, citing his military record, his Yale Law School degree and his authorship of Hillbilly Elegy, his best-selling memoir of his working class upbringing.
His candidacy was championed by Trump’s son Donald Jr as the best pick to electrify his conservative base and target Mr Biden’s critical “blue wall” of states that the President will need to win to stay in power.
“Don Jr and Vance are besties now,” a source told the New York Post
“Rumour is that people are thinking Don Jr could get on the ticket as VP in 2028,” the source added, given Trump could only serve one term if he returned to power in November.
BIDEN REACTS TO VANCE VP CANDIDATE
Mr Biden dismissed Senator Vance as “a clone of Trump on the issues”.
The Democrats also warned that he said he would have refused to certify Trump’s election defeat in 2020 – a move vice president Mike Pence declined to make, drawing death threats during the January 6 riot.
Trump’s former chief of staff Reince Priebus – the chair of the Republican convention host committee – said the attempted assassination was a “remarkable, dreadful, horrific scenario” that was “one of those unknown territories in American politics”.
But he said Trump had “an enormous opportunity … to really galvanise the country”.
“The slogan ‘make America one again’ sounds pretty cool,” Mr Priebus said.
Originally published as Republican National Convention: Leaked video reveals Trump call with Biden, RFK Jr
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