Donald Trump was set to unveil his running mate on Monday as supporters gathered in Milwaukee for the Republican Party convention, an extravaganza turbocharged by the attempted assassination of the former president.
With the country still reeling from images of a bloodied Trump being escorted off a rally stage at the weekend, some 50,000 Republicans descended on the shores of Lake Michigan for the four-day convention.
Trump will announce his vice presidential candidate later Monday, according to Fox News, with the top possible names including two senators — J.D. Vance of Ohio and Marco Rubio of Florida — and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.
Convention organizers insisted the show would go on despite the attempt on Trump’s life on Saturday.
“We’re not going to change anything because of a tragic event in Pennsylvania,” David Bossie, a co-chair of the convention, told AFP.
Nevertheless, the attempted assassination — in which one bystander was killed, and two more wounded — is the only story in town, four months before the election against Democrat President Joe Biden.
Trump himself dismissed any calls to postpone the convention in the hours after the shooting, vowing to be “defiant in the face of wickedness.”
“I’m not supposed to be here, I’m supposed to be dead,” he told the New York Post in an interview aboard his plane en route to Milwaukee, during which he reportedly sported a white bandage on his ear and a large bruise on his forearm from where the Secret Service agents gripped him.
“By luck or by God, many people are saying it’s by God I’m still here,” he said.
Riding high in the polls despite being convicted at his hush-money case in New York, Trump appears on course for victory as Biden, 81, faces calls from his own side to quit the race over concerns around his age.
Trump scored another victory Monday as a judge dismissed the criminal case against him over accusations he endangered national security by holding on to top secret documents after leaving the White House.
He immediately took to Truth Social to call for the dismissal of all legal cases against him, insisting again that he was being targeted for political reasons.
Trump told the Post he had “prepared an extremely tough speech” about Biden’s “horrible administration” to deliver when he becomes the official Republican nominee on Thursday.
As some Republicans sought to blame Democrats’ anti-Trump rhetoric for the attack, he also said he hopes to “unite our country.”
Still, that would see him have to rein in the instinct to settle scores — demonstrated by his cry for supporters to “fight” in the seconds after Saturday’s attack.
The attempt on his life has revived fears of political violence in a country already polarized and on edge.
Most of the important party business at conventions takes place behind a protective ring of steel, and the Secret Service — battling criticism it failed to protect Trump from the shooter — said it was “fully prepared” to ensure security.
The convention is designed in Trump’s image, with large digital banners beaming out a message in the cavernous convention arena: “Make America Great Once Again.”
The branding reflects his takeover of the party itself.
A diminished figure after his 2020 election loss, which saw his supporters storm the US Capitol, the former real estate mogul has spent much of the last four years clambering back to the apex of Republican politics.
Installing loyalists including his daughter-in-law Lara Trump atop the Republican National Committee, the billionaire has effectively crushed dissent.
The Milwaukee convention is a family affair, with Lara and the former president’s two eldest sons, Don Jr and Eric, all due to address delegates.
