Trump accepts nomination, delivering 1st speech since assassination attempt

MILWAUKEE — Striking an unusually somber tone, former President Donald Trump told supporters on the final night of the Republican National Convention that he wasn’t supposed to be there.

The audience hollered a response, chanting “yes you are!” But Trump, quieter in the opening moments of his speech, stood by his statement.

“I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty God,” he said as part of a nearly 90-minute speech that included accepting the GOP presidential nomination.

Trump, who was speaking for the first time since surviving an assassination attempt Saturday in Pennsylvania, was met with deafening cheers and support, including from Nevada delegates who wore miniature American flags behind their ears in a homage to the bandage Trump wore on his gunshot wound.

The former president brought a symbol of his own, taking the stage alongside the gear of slain fire chief Corey Comperatore, who was killed at the rally during the attack on Trump. Two others were critically injured, however Trump said during the speech they are now in recovery.

Trump twice mentioned “the great state of Nevada” in his address, including calling out Sam Brown, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.

“We have a man in this room who’s running for the U.S. Senate from the great state of Nevada, Sam Brown, he paid the ultimate price,” Trump said of Brown, a U.S. Army veteran who was wounded in combat.

Brown, who is facing Sen. Jacky Rosen in November, was the only candidate Trump mentioned.

Trump also touted his proposal to end taxes on tips, an idea he attributed to a waitress who served him at Trump International Hotel Las Vegas.

The concept is already being considered with the bipartisan No Tax on Tips Act calling for workers to keep their tips without paying federal income tax on them. The proposal is supported by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Rosen, both Democrats.

“The real thing I think for Nevada, which turned a whole page for Nevada, is the no tax for tips, and that is bringing awareness to a whole new group of people, they’re really listening now,” said Anne Nielsen, a delegate at the convention.

The night had another Las Vegas tie.

Dana White, the outspoken CEO of the Las Vegas-based Ultimate Fighting Championship, introduced Trump to convention supporters. White said Trump, like the competitors in his mixed martial arts league, is a “fighter.”

Trump said White was his “first, second and third choice” to do the introduction. After an initial rejection because of a planned family vacation, White took the stage at Fiserv Forum to commemorate his 25-year-long friendship. When the UFC struggled to find venues to hots its fighting cards in the early 2000s, Trump had them at the once Trump-owned former Taj Mahal in New Jersey to start a lifelong friendship with White.

“I know President Trump is a proven leader, a fearless leader and this country was in a much better place when he was in the Oval Office,” White said.

Trump’s survival following the attempted assassination last week ignited a small but preexisting belief that the former president has a form of divine power working at his disposal. Nearly every speaker opened their remarks with prayers for the former president, dubbing his survival a “millimeter miracle,” and his shooting a sacrificial act — all leading up to the former president’s speech.

This new sentiment among Trump’s supporters was best illustrated when evangelical leader Franklin Graham led the audience in a prayer for the safety of Trump, his family and the family of his running mate, JD Vance.

“We pray for President Trump, that you would give him wisdom, strength and a clear vision for the future of this nation. And that task at hand, continue to protect him from his enemies. I pray that you would surround him with men and women who will give him sound counsel and guidance,” Graham said.

Graham wasn’t the only religious leader to speak Thursday night. Detroit pastor Lorenzo Sewell, who hosted Trump at his church last month, joined the slate of speakers that attributed Trump’s survival to divine intervention.

“Could it be that the king of glory, the lord god, strong and mighty, the god who is mighty in battle protected Donald Trump because he wanted to use him for such a time as this?” Sewell said after going off-script.

The pastor then asked the audience to put their hands together if they believed the answer to his question was yes — and the crowd did just that, jumping out of their seats to clap and cheer.

For Nevada GOP Chairman Michael McDonald, the convention reached its peak when Trump walked into the arena on Monday night. He said he felt “every emotion,” feeling both joyous and tearful, as he watched the candidate walk into his seat.

“One of my friends got shot. I’m a police officer — it’s happened before, but he’s also my president. For me, it was big,” McDonald said.

Earlier in the night, Trump recounted his perspective of events that took place during his shooting for what he said would be the first and final time. He shared that, despite “blood everywhere,” and the instant awareness that the rally was under attack, he felt a sense of serenity.

Trump recalled how the rally goers didn’t run, but instead, chose to stand and look for the source of the shooting.

“They knew I was in trouble, they didn’t want to leave me,” he said. “You can see that love written all over their faces.”

The theme for the convention’s closing night was “Make America Great Again,” and featured speakers touching on a blend of topics from the previous three nights, all with the same conclusion: that Trump is the only way forward for the country.

The candidate’s speech had conflicting messages. He called for an end to political division, but took multiple digs at the Democratic Party, saying President Joe Biden is only fierce “when it comes to cheating on elections and a couple of other things.”

“If you took the 10 worst presidents in the history of the United States — think of it, the 10 worst — added them up, they will not have done the damage that Biden has done,” Trump said, his only explicit mention of Biden.

Jen O’Malley Dillon, the chairwoman for Biden’s campaign, said in a statement that Trump “sought to find problems with America, not to provide solutions.”

“President Biden is running on a different vision,” she said. “He’s running for an America where we defend democracy, not diminish it. Where we restore our rights and protect our freedoms, not take them away. One where we create opportunities for everyone, while making the super wealthy finally pay their fair share. That is the future President Biden believes in and is the future that millions of our fellow Americans believe in too.”