Tom Minear: Milwaukee feels like the ‘calm before the storm’ ahead of Trump fronting convention

As Donald Trump arrived in Milwaukee for the Republican convention the mood will become more tense once the event begins, writes Tom Minear.

Arriving in Milwaukee late the night before the start of the Republican convention, it felt like the calm before the storm.

The airport was quiet, with most of the party delegates from across the country and journalists from across the world having arrived earlier on.

Outside the airport was an actual storm: pouring rain and sharp cracks of lightning on a muggy summer’s night. So the streets were quiet too, a far cry from what they will be like on Monday (local time), when Donald Trump’s coronation as the party’s candidate for this year’s US presidential election begins in the most extraordinary of circumstances.

Supporters of Donald await his arrival at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. Picture: AFP

Even the former president himself could scarcely seem to believe what happened not even 24 hours earlier, as he flew into Milwaukee on his plane with a reporter from the New York Post.

“I’m not supposed to be here, I’m supposed to be dead,” the 78-year-old said.

“I’m supposed to be dead.”

On stage at his campaign rally in Pennsylvania, Trump turned his head to look at a chart on the border crisis, a split second before a gunman opened fire. The bullet clipped his ear. Had he moved a moment later, he would likely be dead.

His instantly iconic reaction – the defiant fist pump, the call to supporters to fight – ensures he will receive a hero’s welcome at the Republican convention, although that was never in doubt, given the manner in which Trump has remade the Grand Old Party in his image.

As Republican officials finalised arrangements for the convention on Sunday (local time), some attendees gathered outside for a peaceful prayer vigil in Trump’s honour.

Flags are raised outside the Fiserv Forum ahead of the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Picture: Getty Images

The mood will be more tense once the event begins, with as many as 5000 counter-protesters expected to march through the city.

Security will be extremely tight. That said, while guns are banned from the basketball stadium hosting the event, pedestrians outside the Secret Service-manned perimeter will still be allowed to carry firearms.

The more things change in the US, the more they stay the same.

Originally published as Tom Minear: Milwaukee feels like the ‘calm before the storm’ ahead of Trump fronting convention