MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Republican National Convention resumes Tuesday as the focus turns to immigration, a central issue for former President Donald Trump. It’s Donald Trump A political brand that helped endear him to the GOP base when he launched his first campaign in 2015.
Survived two days later An assassination attemptTrump appeared triumphantly on the opening night of Monday’s convention with a bandage over his right ear, the latest poignant display. A presidential campaign Already defined by dramatic twists.
GOP delegates cheered wildly as Trump appeared on a screen backstage, and then Trump made an emotional appearance on stage as musician Lee Greenwood sang “God Bless America.” That came just hours after the convention formally nominated the former president to run against the president for Republican presidential nomination in November Joe Biden.
Trump, who was flanked by a wall of Secret Service agents on Monday, did not address the hall — with his acceptance speech scheduled for Thursday — but smiled quietly and waved occasionally as Greenwood sang. He was finally joined by his newly announced driving partner, Ohio Sen. JD VanceListening to the rest of the night’s speeches, often with a subdued expression and muted reactions, is uncharacteristic of the shameless showman.
The rousing reception underscored the depth of the crowd’s affection for the 2016 nominee, who won the nomination as an outsider but defeated all Republican challengers, silenced most conservative critics and now boosted loyalty across party lines. .
“We need to come together as a party, we need to come together as a nation,” Michael Watley, the Republican Party leader and Trump’s handpicked party chairman, opened Monday’s prime-time National Convention session. “We must show the same strength and resilience as President Trump and lead this country to a better future.”
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But Watley and other Republican leaders made it clear that their calls for reconciliation did not extend to Biden and Democrats, who are still consumed by concerns that they are not up to the task of defeating the 81-year-old Trump.
“Their policies are a clear and present danger to America, our institutions, our values and our people,” Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson said Trump won in 2016 but welcomed the party back to his battleground state after losing to Biden four years ago. .
Trump’s campaign leaders have crafted the conference to have a soft and optimistic message, focusing on themes that will help broaden his appeal among a divisive leader. moderate voters And colored people.
On Monday, a night devoted to the economy, delegates and a national television audience drew from speakers the Trump campaign called “everyday Americans” — a single mother who talks about inflation, a union member who identified herself as a lifelong Democrat and now supports Trump. A small business owner, among others.
AP reporter Jennifer King reports that the Republican National Convention continues in Milwaukee.
Featured speakers include black Republicans who have been at the forefront of the Trump campaign’s push to win more votes from key Democratic constituencies.
U.S. Representative Wesley Hunt of Texas said rising grocery and energy prices are hurting Americans’ wallets.
“We can fix this disaster,” Hunt said, by electing Trump and sending “him to the White House where he belongs.”
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