Donald Trump appeared to get emotional as he relived the moment he was shot last weekend in his first speech since the assassination attempt.
Speaking in front of a packed audience at the Republican National Convention, the former president formally accepted his party’s nomination and in subdued tones, declared: “The discord and division in our society must be healed. We must heal it quickly.”
He added: “As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a shared destiny.
“In an age when our politics too often divide us. Now is the time to remember we are all fellow citizens.”
In a speech delivered in front of a mock up of the White House, Trump then turned his attention to last weekend, claiming he was only alive today “by the grace of Almighty God.”
Trump only narrowly avoided being fatally shot whilst speaking at a rally In Pennsylvania last Saturday when lone gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, attempted to assassinate the former President.
Donald Trump formally accepted the Republican nomination in the opening of his speechREUTERS“I’m not supposed to be here tonight” Trump said, prompting chants of “Yes you are, yes you are!”
Photos of a bloodied Trump were displayed on screens on stage at the same time.
He added: “I’ll tell you what happened, and you’ll never hear it from me a second time, because it’s too painful to tell.”
Appearing visibly moved by the response to his candid admission, Trump went on to give a dramatic moment by moment account of the shooting.
“It was a warm, beautiful day in the early evening in Butler Township in the great commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” he explained.
“In order to see the chart, I started to turn to my right, and was ready to begin a further turn, which I’m lucky I didn’t, when I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me, really hard, on my right ear.
“I said to myself, ‘Wow, what was that – it can only be a bullet,’ and moved my right hand to my ear, brought it down, and my hand was covered with blood.
“I immediately knew it was very serious, that we were under attack, and in one movement, proceeded to drop to the ground.
“Bullets continued to fly as very brave Secret Service agents rushed to the stage and pounced on top of me for protection.
“There was blood pouring everywhere, and yet, in a certain way I felt very safe because I had God on my side.
“The amazing thing is that prior to the shot, if I had not moved my head at the very last instant, the assassin’s bullet would have perfectly hit its mark, and I would not be here tonight.”
In the days that followed that attack, Trump told the Washington Examiner he had ripped up his original conference speech and would focus on calling for unity.
But while Trump adopted a statesman-like tone in his address, there was still plenty of showmanship for those who like that sort of thing.
The crowd was warmed-up with rallying cries from a wide variety of celebrities, including former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
He told the crowd he believes Trump was changed by the assassination attempt.
“In that moment, Donald Trump, months before the presidential election, became the leader of this nation, that was the most obvious to me. And I have to say, you know, I think it changed him.”
WWF star Hulk Hogan got possibly the second loudest cheer of the night after Trump himself when he literally ripped his shirt off revealing a Trump Vance T-Shirt.
“After what happened in Pensylvannia I can no longer stay silent,” Hogan said, “I’m here tonight because I want the world to know that Donald Trump is a real American hero.
“They’ve thrown everything at Donald Trump. All the court cases and the investigations and he’s still kicking their ass.”
Kid Rock got the crowd pumped up with a special live performance asking the whole auditorium to put their fist in the air and say “Fight, fight.” whilst UFC CEO Dana White praised Trump as “a real American badass”.
“I’m in the tough guy business and this guy is the toughest human being I’ve ever met in my life.
“President Trump is literally putting his life on the line for something bigger than himself… He wants what’s best for the American people.”
Many Republicans have praised Trump’s softer message, saying he is now a certainty to sweep the key swing states in November and remove a president many do not think is fit to be in office.
In the hours before Trump’s speech, President Biden’s reelection campaign faced fresh turmoil after reports emerged that top Democratic leaders had privately pushed the 81-year-old incumbent to end his campaign.
There were even claims that former President Barack Obama had privately expressed concerns to Democrats about Biden’s candidacy and that Biden was now ‘soul searching’ about dropping out of the race.
Meanwhile, as Trump bathed in the adoration of his party, The White House said Biden was isolating after testing positive for Covid-19.
All this while opinion polls showed four of the seven most competitive states look increasingly out of reach for the Democrats.
The Trump campaign responded by saying they now believe that have a chance of taking Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Virginia.