Last Saturday [Trump Rally Shooting] was a jarring reminder that we as Americans must always remember there is more that unites us than divides us. ~ Lara Trump
Republican National Committee Co-Chairman, Lara Trump, speaks at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Lara Trump.
Lara Trump: Whoa! I don’t feel like I actually have to ask this question, but is anybody in this room ready to send Donald Trump back to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?
Well, it may not be a surprise that I actually had a very different speech that I was prepared to give up here tonight. That all changed at 611 on Saturday evening. Nothing prepares you for a moment like that. Our family has faced our fair share of death threats, mysterious powders sent to our homes, tasteless and violent comments directed towards us on social media.
But none of that prepares you, as a daughter in law, to watch in real time. Someone tried to kill a person you love. None of that prepares you as a mother to quickly reach for the remote and turn your young children away from the screen so that they’re not witness to something that scars the memory of their grandpa for the rest of their lives.
The prayers and well-wishes we’ve received over the last 72 hours have been overwhelming, to say the least.
And my heart goes out to the family who lost a husband and a father because of this senseless act. All of you here tonight and watching at home mean the world to all of us in the Trump family.
If Donald Trump has shown us anything, it’s that when it feels impossible to keep going, those are the times we must keep going.
I don’t know how many people here watching at home have ever been to a Trump rally, but if you’ve never been, let me tell you about them all. Some of you been, oh.
Regardless of how the media have painted these rallies, you would be hard pressed to find and to join a happier group of people coming together over their love for the greatest country on earth, the United States of America.
I dare anyone trying to leave a Trump rally without leaving with some new friends. You always make friends at a Trump rally, right? Veterans, teachers, blue collar workers, white collar workers, active duty military police officers, firefighters, small business owners, Latino supporters, Christian supporters, Jewish supporters, black supporters, white supporters, Asian supporters, gay supporters, Republicans in independents and yes, even Democrats.
At a Trump rally, you’re not viewed as your profession, your religion, or the color of your skin. You’re viewed as one thing an American.
Last Saturday was a jarring reminder that we as Americans must always remember there is more that unites us than divides us.
We all want this country to be great, even if we don’t always agree on the best way of doing that. And with every bone in my body, I can tell you that all Donald Trump wants to do and has ever wanted to do is make this country great again for all of us.
Proverbs 28 reads, the wicked flee, though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
And that truly epitomizes Donald Trump. He is a lion.
He is bold. He is strong. He is fearless. And he is exactly what this country needs right now.
Let’s not forget what life actually looked like under President Donald Trump. Trade deals across the world that benefited our economy. Allied countries paying their fair share. A safe and secure southern border.
Record low unemployment rates for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans and women. Record investment in historically black colleges and universities. The creation of the United States Space Force.
The most comprehensive prison reform in decades. How about the peace agreements in the Middle East that they said would never happen?
The largest tax cuts in American history. Our energy independence. Massive amounts of red tape cut. And no new wars when Donald J. Trump was president.
Maybe most importantly, though, you could actually feel it in your everyday life. Now, you didn’t have to love everything that he tweeted, but you cannot deny you were better off when Donald Trump was in office.
Americans were finally able to start saving money. Home prices were affordable and gas hit a low of $1.87 a gallon.
As I speak here tonight, many of our fellow Americans don’t know how they’ll pay for their next trip to the grocery store. New clothes for their children, or this month’s rent. Many of our fellow Americans worry that we are on the verge of a major terror attack here on American soil. Many of our fellow Americans don’t think their own children will be able to establish a better life than they themselves currently have.
Many of our fellow Americans are right now sitting and wondering how on earth this country could have moved in the wrong direction, and so quickly. The Democrats in the media know that they cannot convince you, the American people, that your life is better off now because it’s not. So what will they do? They’ll try to sell you on some outrageous narrative about the terrible things that Donald Trump will do if he becomes president.
But you don’t have to imagine what it would be like. All you have to do is remember what it was like.
I know. Oh, yeah.
I know what you hear out there about Donald Trump. I know what you read, what the media tells you, and what out-of-touch celebrities on the left say about this man. But when I look at Donald Trump, I see a wonderful father, father in law and of course, grandfather to my two young children, Luke and Carolina.
I know that I’m lucky enough to get to call him my father in law and see him a little differently than all of you. But it’s through that lens that I sometimes wish more people could see him. This is a man who has sacrificed for his family, and a man who has truly sacrificed for his country.
Donald Trump didn’t need to run for president. For fame or money. Trust me, we all know he already had plenty of that. I’ll tell you why he did it and why he continues on even in the face of the unthinkable. Because he loves this country.
He did it for his grandchildren. For your children and grandchildren. And for the generations to come. I have seen this man dragged through hell and back in and out of courtrooms, indictments, impeachments, mug shots, and even an assassination attempt. And yet he has never backed down.
I’ll never forget watching my two children run up to him with their drawings and hugs for grandpa. Just moments before he took the elevator down in Trump Tower to address the media. The day after his wrongful conviction. Despite everything else he had going on, he had no other focus in the entire world, just a man relishing time with his grandchildren.
It’s a side of Donald Trump that not enough people get to see. Maybe you got to see a side of Donald Trump on Saturday that you were not sure existed until you saw it with your own eyes. Martin Luther King Jr once famously said, the ultimate measure of a man is not when where he stands in moments of convenience and comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
There’s no doubt that Saturday was one of the most frightening moments of my father in law’s life. Millimeters separated him from life and certain death. And yet it was in the midst of it all as he was jostled offstage by Secret Service that he knew how defining that moment would be for our country. And he hoisted his fist in the air.
It was not just for the audience at the rally, not just for his supporters tuning in, but for all of America. And as a signal to the world that no matter what. America will always prevail.
Though it’s been strained and attacked. No enemy, no force. Not even a bullet is strong enough to break our American grit and our American soul.
We are the country whose founders gave their fortunes, freedom, and lives to pursue the dream of a free society. We are the country of Thomas Edison, Susan B Anthony, Henry Ford, and Harriet Tubman. We are the country who fought and won two world wars.
And we are the country who always rises to meet the moment, no matter how insurmountable the task. And in that split second on Saturday, Donald Trump reminded us all of that very history and who we are at our core as a nation. That is the Donald Trump that I know.
He is an American, an American who conquered the business world, an American who made himself a household name, an American who was beloved by politicians and fellow celebrities for decades until he ran for office with an AR next to his name, an American whom even Barack Obama admits people consider the American dream.
And instead of sailing off into the sunset after an illustrious real estate and television career, he decided to give back. He decided to bring some of the things that had made him so successful in life to all of you, in order to improve the lives of all Americans black, white, brown, gay, straight, all Americans. Because that’s the man that Donald Trump is.
I can tell you that my personal experience with Donald Trump has shown me his heart. There wasn’t a second that he made this small town girl, who was way out of her element in New York City, feel anything but welcomed, and part of the family. And if not for the support and encouragement of my father in law, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
It’s been said by many that Donald Trump sees things in people that they don’t even recognize in themselves. In 2016, when he asked me to help him win my home state of North Carolina.
I’ll be honest, I was terrified. I had no idea how I would make it happen. But he knew I would. And I did. When I was given an opportunity to join a television network as a commentator, it was the push and support of my father in law that gave me the confidence to take that job. Always the first one to call or text me after a TV hit and tell me, great job, keep going.
Not bad. Right?
He or even a few months ago when he called and asked me to be the co-chair of our party.
He showed me potential in myself that I couldn’t yet see. So tonight, to my father in law, I want to say thank you.
Thank you for your resilience. Thank you for continuing on. Thank you for raising wonderful kids. Thank you for being an amazing grandfather. Thank you for never giving up on me. And thank you for never giving up on our country.
Tonight I come to you. Not as the co-chair of the RNC, not as the daughter in law of the candidate. Tonight I come to you as a mom and as a citizen of this country. For those of you watching who have never voted for Donald Trump, I know what the media and his political opponents have tried to tell you about this man.
Believe me, I have seen and heard it all. But I have also seen the truth. I am proud to know Donald Trump to campaign for him, to vote for him and to raise his grandchildren.
He will do what is necessary to protect you, protect your family, and protect this country. Because Donald Trump wants us all to be successful, to be safe, to be happy, to be strong and to be great again.
Tonight, I’m asking you to vote. Not for the Donald Trump you see flashed on your TV every day, splashed across the headlines tonight. I’m asking you to vote for the Donald Trump that Luke and Carolina call grandpa. I’m asking you to vote for the Donald Trump that my husband Eric calls dad. I’m asking you to vote for the Donald Trump that I call my father in law.
I’m asking you to vote for the Donald Trump who can and will make America great once again for all of us. Thank you. God bless you. God bless the United States of America. We love you.
Thank you guys.