Trump accepts nomination during 92-minute speech and honors the victim of the the shooting, Corey Comperatore.
MILWAUKEE—The Republican National Convention concluded July 18 with a lengthy address by a subdued and mostly soft-spoken former President Donald Trump, who accepted his party’s nomination for the presidency and laid out a political vision to unite the country around national security and prosperity.
The four-day convention began with the nomination of the former president on its first day, an unusual order of business that left the remainder of the week devoted to conveying the party’s vision and redefining the often brash former president as a devoted family man and compassionate friend.
The event closely followed an assassination attempt on former President Trump on July 13, which had a clear effect on the former president according to several who know him and the man himself.
Here are the key takeaways from the final session of the convention.
Sobered After Saturday, Trump Accepts Nomination
“Every single moment we have on Earth is a gift from God,” former President Trump said, reflecting on his near-death experience at the hands of a gunman in Pennsylvania.
The former leader of the United States began his speech with a blow-by-blow account of that attempt on his life, one he said he would never relate again.
“It’s actually too painful to tell,” he said before beginning.
With his wife, Melania, sitting in the stands for the first time since the RNC started, former President Trump praised her letter calling for national unity.
Over and over, he returned to themes of unity and love–a kinder, gentler call to his base, though one delivered by a man who said “Fight, Fight, Fight!” while bleeding from his ear after being wounded in Butler.
Yet, after the appeals to national unity, the former president made his expected criticisms of the Biden administration.
“If Democrats want to unify our country, they should drop these partisan witch hunts,” he said.
He also called for the leader of the United Auto Workers union to resign, saying he had done little to prevent the loss of American auto manufacturing jobs.
The speech built up to a modest closure. The former president said he was “humbly asking for your vote.”
