Monday marked the first time that former President Donald Trump has seen in public since a gunman attempted to kill him at a political event two days prior. He was greeted with thunderous ovation as he entered the Republican convention hall, his right ear bandaged, and his fist raised.
A live performance of “God Bless the U.S.A.” featuring vocalist Lee Greenwood was being sung by supporters on the convention floor and in the stadium as Trump waved to them and sat down with Tucker Carlson, Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, and members of his family.
As cries of “USA” erupted and the audience around him went wild, Trump maintained a somber expression.
Subsequently, as rapper and TV celebrity Amber Rose urged Americans to vote for him in her speech, Trump mouthed the words “thank you.” As the show ended on Monday night, Trump acknowledged those who reached out to him as he left the arena.
Following the shooting on Saturday, Trump raised his fist to the Butler, Pennsylvania, crowd. After that, he was loaded into a waiting car and drove away, remaining hidden from the public eye until the convention on Monday, all the while amidst a flurry of backstage activity.
President Joe Biden, as well as prominent figures in the Republican Party and globally, called President Trump. He pondered over how he had escaped death to conservative media outlets. After arriving back at his New Jersey residence, he took a plane to Wisconsin for the convention, where he received his third nomination as the Republican Party’s presidential candidate.
Although Trump did not speak on Monday night, the overwhelming support he received from convention goers was consistent with the relief he displayed during his interviews. “This is not where I should be,” he declared to the Washington Examiner. I’m supposed to be dead, he stated in a New York Post interview.
Upon the commencement of the convention addresses, Trump’s supporters emphasized their emotions on his tight escape. “Evil befell the man we love and adore so much two days ago,” Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene stated. “I give thanks to God that he touched President Trump.”
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina used biblical language to describe the threat to applause. He said, “The Devil” appeared in Pennsylvania “holding a rifle,” but the American lion rose back up and let forth a roar.
According to a person who had spoken with Trump, NBC News learned that he was in a reflective mood and felt rejuvenated after the incident.
As he and his aides reworked portions of it in the hours following the attack, the source stated he thought Trump’s near-death experience would find its way into his speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
“I essentially gave a speech that was an incredible rip-roarer during the interview,” Trump said to Byron York of the Washington Examiner. Trump claimed to have “thrown it out” and was working on a revised version. “This speech we have now is more cohesive.”
After receiving individual congratulations from people all around the country and the world, Trump made a comeback. Following the shooting, Biden and Trump had a phone conversation, which Biden described as “very cordial” in an interview with NBC News anchor Lester Holt.
“I expressed my concern to him and asked to be sure I understood how he was truly doing,” stated Biden. “He had a nice voice. He thanked me for phoning and said he was okay.”
Sunday’s call between Trump and Keir Starmer, the new prime minister of the United Kingdom, was also recorded, according to an official summary.
Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson contacted out. Kevin McCarthy, a former California congressman, described a Fox News exchange with President Trump. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., appeared tearful as he spoke on Sunday’s NBC News “Meet the Press” what he hoped to say to Trump during their scheduled meeting later that day.
Trump even had a meeting with independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. earlier on Monday, according to Stefanie Spear, the communications secretary for the Kennedy campaign. Kennedy “intends to meet with Democratic Party leaders as well,” according to Spear, who stated that Kennedy is not withdrawing from the race. They met to “discuss national unity.”
An assistant posted a video of Trump doing the fist motion that was witnessed by people all over the world in Butler following the shooting when he landed in Wisconsin before to the convention.
By Monday, Trump was promising to “move forward” with “Uniting our Nation” while demanding the dismissal of all charges against him, including the “January 6th Hoax,” “Witch Hunts,” and “the Georgia ‘Perfect’ Phone Call charges,” which he denounced as a well-coordinated political plot by “the Democrat Justice Department.”
Bret Baier of Fox News stated that he spoke with Trump early on Monday and that he was enjoying the fact that a federal court in Florida had dismissed the indictment against him for allegedly mishandling secret documents. This is just one more significant development in a bizarre few days for Trump.
Republicans on the ground have responded favorably to Trump’s appeal for togetherness. Wisconsin Republican Party Chair Brian Schimming told NBC News that the shooting gives Trump a chance to engage the country.
Schimming told NBC News in Milwaukee, “I believe the president will consider what has transpired here over the past few days and will undoubtedly exploit that regrettable incident to summon people to a common location.” “I therefore fully anticipate that the president will address that, as well as making sure that everyone in the nation hears him declare that not only is that kind of thing wrong, but also… to bring the nation together in the rare occasion when something tragic like that occurs.”