Donald Trump shooting, Republican National Convention, live updates: Former Trump rivals Haley, DeSantis fall in line
Donald Trump’s most prominent critics have been forced to eat their words as they heap praise on him at the Republican National Convention.
Three days on from the attempted assassination of former US president Donald Trump, authorities investigate the motive behind the campaign rally shooting.
Trump was grazed in the ear with a bullet after Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, fired at the 78-year-old during the rally in Butler, just outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, local time. Crooks was later shot dead by the Secret Service.
Two others David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, were critically injured in the shooting, while Corey Comperatore, 50, was shot and killed while trying to protect his family from gunfire.
Here are the latest updates.
‘Weekend at Bernie’s presidency’: Key Trump rivals fall in line
Two of Donald Trump’s biggest critics have fallen over themselves to heap praise on him at the Republican National Convention as the party unites around the now official candidate for president.
Former UN ambassador Nikki Halley, who was the last rival to Trump in the nomination race, was only invited days ago to speak such was the animosity between the two. Yet on Tuesday night in Milwaukee she said he had extended a “gracious invitation”.
For the first time she officially endorsed Trump for president.
Her speech was squarely aimed at those voters who had reservations about Trump.
“My message to them is simple. You don’t have to agree with Trump 100 per cent of the time to vote for him. Take it from me, I haven’t always agreed with President Trump, but we agree more often than we disagree,” she said.
However she made a plea for the Republican Party not to lurch to its MAGA base.
“We must not just be a unified party, we must expand our party. We are stronger when we welcome into our party people with different backgrounds and experiences”.
That plea for a broad church was in contrast to Florida Governor Ron De Santis, another former rival to Trump for the nomination, who came on the stage straight after Ms Haley.
He said diversity initiatives in companies, known as DEI in the US, actually stood for “division, exclusion and introduction”.
Mr DeSantis mocked Mr Biden’s work ethic stating “enemies” don’t work from “10am to 4pm”.
“America cannot have four more years of a Weekend at Bernie’s presidency”.
During Mr Trump’s presidency it was reported that he didn’t take meetings before 11am.
– Benedict Brook, reporting live from Milwaukee
Shock as key Donald Trump figure collapses
Viral footage has captured the moment the former mayor of New York City took a tumble and crashed into empty chairs at the Republican National Convention.
In the video, Rudy Giuliani, 80, can be seen walking in the Fiserv Forum on day two of the Milwaukee convention, before he suddenly collapsed into rows of empty chairs.
The recently disbarred lawyer, who served as Trump’s personal lawyer, was quickly helped to his feet as photographers rushed to capture the moment.
It’s unclear what exactly caused Mr Giuliani to fall.
Mr Giuliani later addressed the moment on social media, thanking everyone for their concern.
“I tripped as I was checking out the convention floor. The eyes of the world are on Fiserv Forum and the RNC, so my trip was seen by many,” he wrote.
“As a famous person once said, ‘Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall’.”
Arizona delegate wears fake Trump patch in new fashion trend
An Arizona delegate has been spotted wearing a fake Trump ear patch in a wild new “fashion trend” at the Republican National Convention.
Joe Neglia, was seen wearing the makeshift patch – which appears to be a folded piece of paper – after Trump stepped out with a bandage over his right ear in his first public appearance since the attempted assassination yesterday.
“This is the newest fashion trend. I’m getting this going,” Mr Neglia told CBS News.
Mr Neglia told the Daily Mail he decided to wear the patch in solidarity with Trump.
“I got the idea from Trump last night when he came in here during that rancorous applause,” he said.
“I thought, what can I do to honour him? This is the least I can do.”
Graphic of shooting shows ‘miracle’ moment
Former US president Donald Trump is missing “a little bit” of his ear after surviving Saturday’s assassination attempt, a former White House doctor has revealed.
Texas Congressman Ronny Jackson, who was the White House’s top doctor during the Trump administration and is continuing to treat the 78 year old, gave an update on Trump’s ear after it was grazed by a bullet, on The Benny Show podcast.
“I checked his ear out. I went up and dressed his ear this morning,” Dr Jackson told the podcast.
When asked if Trump was missing a peace of his ear, Dr Jackson said: “Yeah, a little bit at the top”.
“He was lucky though. 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.”
He added Trump’s ear was “bleeding like crazy” after it was grazed by the bullet.
“The ear is pretty vascular, it bleeds pretty badly … 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.”
Trump earlier praised a chart for saving his life.
Moments before the shooting, he turned his head to look at the chart featuring immigration statistics displayed on a screen to his right.
“I rarely look away from the crowd,” Trump said in an interview after the attack. “Had I not done that in that moment, well, we would not be talking today, would we?”
The close call has been praised as a “miracle” by many on social media, who have shared a new visualisation which claims to show how Trump narrowly avoided being killed.
“This is the definition of a miracle. The odds of this happening are so infinitesimal that divine intervention is a more probable explanation,” one person wrote on X.
“It’s impossible to overstate how much of a miracle we experienced on July 13th. This is how close we came,” said another.
“I like when science proves a miracle. God Angels surrounding Trump There is no other explanation. This is *not* luck,” another wrote.
Secret Service boss blames ‘sloped roof’ for agency’s failure
In a shocking admission, the director of the Secret Services has revealed the agency did not guard the rooftop used by the gunman in Saturday’s attempted assassination as it was too slanted.
Speaking to ABC News, Director Kimberly Cheatle, who has refused to resign despite mounting calls, said the agency was aware of the security vulnerabilities presented by the building.
“That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof,” she told the outlet.
“And so, you know, the decision was made to secure the building, from inside.”
Ms Cheatle said local authorities were responsible for securing the building.
“In this particular instance, we did share support for that particular site and that the Secret Service was responsible for the inner perimeter,” Ms Cheatle said. “And then we sought assistance from our local counterparts for the outer perimeter. There was local police in that building — there was local police in the area that were responsible for the outer perimeter of the building.”
Ms Cheatle is expected to testify before the GOP-led House Oversight Committee next week.
‘I need the day off’: Gunman’s request before shooting
Thomas Matthew Crooks asked his boss for Saturday off work, sources have claimed as more details come to light about the 20-year-old’s movements before the attempted assassination.
Crooks, who worked at a Pennsylvanian nursing home, told his boss he needed to take the day of the rally off work because he had “something to do,” multiple law enforcement officials told CNN.
The outlet reported Crooks also told his co-workers he would be back at work on Sunday.
On Friday, the day before the rally, Crooks, attended a shooting range where he was a member, a law enforcement official told the outlet.
On Saturday, he reportedly travelled to gun store, where he purchased 50 rounds of ammunition, before visiting a Home Depot, where he bought a five-foot ladder.
It is not clear if Crooks used the newly purchased ammunition or the ladder in the shooting.
Crooks has been described as a “loner” and a “quiet kid” by his former classmates.
One former classmate told the New York Post: “He didn’t seem like really weird or anything. I would have pegged him as a Republican.”
“He was more of a loner. He probably had a friend group, but not many friends.”
Alleged Iran plot to kill Trump before shooting
The US Secret Service boosted security around Trump after authorities received intelligence about an Iranian plot to assassinate the former president weeks before Saturday’s rally, according to officials.
“Secret Service learned of the increased threat from this threat stream,” a US national security official told CNN.
“In response to the increased threat, Secret Service surged resources and assets for the protection of former president Trump. All of this was in advance of Saturday.”
There is no indication Crooks was connected to the alleged plot, the sources said.
Anthony Guglielmi, the chief spokesman for the Secret Service could not comment on the specific threat, but said: “The Secret Service and other agencies are constantly receiving new potential threat information and taking action to adjust resources, as needed.”
“The Secret Service takes threats seriously and responds accordingly.”
The Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations has denied the plot against Trump, who ordered the 2020 killing of Qasem Soleimani – the former head of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force.
“These accusations are unsubstantiated and malicious. From the perspective of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” a spokesperson for the mission told CNN.
“From the perspective of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Trump is a criminal who must be prosecuted and punished in a court of law for ordering the assassination of General Soleimani. Iran has chosen the legal path to bring him to justice.”
It comes after disturbing new reports emerged about the glaringly obvious security failures in the lead-up to the shooting.
Fresh revelations include that a police officer actually confronted Crooks moments before he opened fire on the former president, and that counter-snipers were stationed in the building itself.
Shooting victim suffered ‘life-altering injuries’
The family of James Copenhaver – one of the two men wounded in the shooting – has released a statement, revealing the 74-year-old is recovering from “life-altering” injuries.
The family thanked everyone for outpouring support as Mr Copenhaver remains in a critical but stable condition.
“Jim would like to express his thoughts and prayers for the other victims, their families, and President Trump. He prays for a safe and speedy recovery for them all,” the statement read.
“The Copenhaver family would like to thank you for your continued thoughts, prayers, and support as Jim and his family recover from this horrible, senseless, and unnecessary act of violence.”
David Dutch, 57, was also injured in the attack.
Trump reportedly speaks to victim’s family
The former president has spoken to the widowed wife of Corey Comperatore – the firefighter and father-of-two who was shot dead at the rally while trying to protect his family.
In a post on social media, Ms Comperatore said Trump was “very kind” during the phone call.
“(He) said he would continue to call me in the days and weeks ahead,” she wrote.
Ms Comperatore said she told Trump her husband “left this world a hero, and God welcomed him in.”
It comes after Mr Comperatore’s wife, Helen, told the New York Post President Joe Biden had tried to call her after the attack, but she declined to speak with him.
“My husband was a devout Republican and he would not have wanted me to talk to him.” she told the publication,
She stressed she doesn’t hold any ill will towards Mr Biden.
“He didn’t do anything to my husband. A 20-year-old despicable kid did.”
Police shoot dead armed suspect near convention
A man armed with a knife has been shot dead by police outside the Republican National Convention on Tuesday, US time.
The man, who was homeless, was reportedly swinging two steak knives at police near the Milwaukee convention, two hours before party members were due to take to the stage, a witness told the New York Post.
Witnesses claimed the victim was fatally “shot in the back” when he ran away from security. At least eight gunshots were heard, the publication reports.
One homeless man claiming to be the victim’s best friend identified the man as “Sam,” but said others referred to him as “Jehovah” – a reference to a voice the man reportedly heard in his head.
Trump was met with a hero’s welcome when he entered the Republican National Convention arena with a bandaged right ear yesterday.
The Republican presidential candidate took his seat to the sound of country singer Lee Greenwood’s patriotic hit “God Bless the USA”.
It was his first public appearance since the assassination attempt.
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