Trump accepts GOP nomination for president; 'I am more determined than ever'

On the final night of the Republican National Convention, former President Donald Trump gave a first-hand account of the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, which he survived days earlier, in a speech that that underlined how the shooting could continue to define the next four months of his campaign.

“I will tell you exactly what happened and you’ll never hear it from me a second time because it’s actually too painful to tell,” Trump told the the thousands of fervent supports packed in the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

Early in his speech, Trump said “the most incredible aspect” of Saturday’s rally was that the crowd didn’t run away when they heard the shots fired.

He said attendees’ lives were saved because the crowd didn’t stampede, but that the true reason his supporters stayed was because they knew he was “in very serious trouble.”

Former President Donald Trump started his speech polished and solemn, later veering into more of an off-script ramble typical of his campaign rallies.

He ended his speech on a confident note, chanting that he will “win, win, win” with his supporters.

Former President Donald Trump seemed to make a vague threat surrounding the hostages in Gaza.

“The entire world, I tell you this: we want our hostages back,” he said. “And they better be back before I assume office, or you will be paying a very big price.”

While complaining about migrants, former President Donald Trump once again brought up the fictional cannibal and serial killer Hannibal Lecter from the 1991 horror film Silence of the Lambs.

He claimed migrants are coming from “mental institutions and insane asylums,” before mentioning “the late great Hannibal Lecter.”

Trump leaned into his recently adopted “no tax on tips” slogan during his speech. His no tax on tips policy idea came from a waitress lamenting about paying taxes on her tips in Nevada, he said in his speech in a story he’s told before.

“No tax, on tips,” the crowd chanted.

The 78-year-old former president, known best for his bombast and aggressive rhetoric, offered a softer and deeply personal message that drew directly from his brush with death.

“The discord and division in our society must be healed. We just heal it quickly. As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a shared destiny. We rise together. Or we fall apart,” Trump said, wearing a large white bandage on his right ear, as he has all week, to cover a wound he sustained in the Saturday shooting. “I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America.”

If Trump hadn’t moved his head at the last moment, the assassin would have killed him, he said.

Trump said David Dutch and James Copenhaver, two victims who survived injuries at the rally, as well their families and Comperatore’s family, are “serious Trumpsters.”

“God Bless the USA” played as former President Donald Trump took the stage, sporting a white bandage on his right ear, red tie, and American flag pin.

As the podium rose to the stage, two people rolled out a firefighter jacket and a helmet with the number 27, both of which belonged to Cory Comperatore, who was shot and killed at Trump’s rally on Saturday.

Eric Trump, son of former President Donald Trump, described his father’s survival of an assassination attempt in religious terms during his speech Thursday night, a pattern from various speakers throughout the night.

“Dad, five days ago, Lara, Luke, Carolina and I held our breath as we saw blood pour across your face,” he said of his wife and kids.

Wearing a red bandana around his head and a red Trump-Vance 2024 tank top, Hulk Hogan, an entertainer and former wrestler, boosted up Trump’s candidacy as if he was cheering on a fellow wrestler at the convention Thursday night.

Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, called Trump “the toughest of them all,” and said that if Trump wins, “we’re all going to be champions again” and “America is going to start winning again.”

The Rev. Lorenzo Sewell, the senior pastor of 180 Church in Detroit, which former President Donald Trump visited roughly a month ago, spoke at the RNC Thursday night.

Sewell repeatedly framed Saturday’s assassination attempt as “a miracle by a millimeter.”

As Democratic fissures deepen over whether President Joe Biden should remain the nominee, Republicans partying in Milwaukee were projecting confidence on the floor waiting for former President Donald Trump to speak Thursday.

Asked which theoretical Democratic replacement for Biden they thought would have the best chance of defeating Trump, most attendees interviewed said no one.

A Facebook post by a Berks County mayor has sparked outrage that caused a borough to shut down its offices.

Following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, Bernville Mayor Shawn Raup-Konsavage, a Democrat, posted a celebratory visual on Facebook with balloons and a cake, with the words “#Pennsylvania Proud. Try Harder.” according to news reports and screenshots.

Ahead of former President Donald Trump’s speech at the Republican National Convention Thursday, county leaders in Philadelphia’s suburbs highlighted policy differences between Trump and President Joe Biden.

Speaking in an office building in Montgomery County, the Democratic members of the boards of commissioners in Montgomery and Chester Counties, and Monica Taylor, the chair of the Delaware County Council, focused on Project 2025, a set of conservative policy proposals prepared by the Heritage Foundation.

Former president Barack Obama has privately expressed concerns to Democrats about President Joe Biden’s candidacy, and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi privately warned Biden that Democrats could lose the ability to seize control of the House if he didn’t step away from the 2024 race, according to several people familiar with the sensitive internal matters.

Pelosi also showed Biden polling that she argued shows he likely can’t defeat Republican Donald Trump, according to two of the people, who insisted on anonymity to discuss such matters.

Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon and former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under former President Donald Trump, spoke to the Pennsylvania delegates Thursday morning, the last day of the convention.

Carson said he had always wanted to be a doctor and that he used to even like going to get a shot "just so I could smell the swabs."

President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign insists it’s “not working through any scenarios” where he “is not the top of the ticket,” despite intensifying calls from congressional Democrats for him to abandon the race ahead of November’s election.

“He is, and will be, the Democratic nominee,” Quentin Fulks, principal deputy manager of Biden’s reelection campaign, told a Thursday news conference in Milwaukee, where the Republican National Convention is being held.

Former President Donald Trump is expected to take the stage Thursday around 10 p.m. Eastern and speak for about an hour and a half, according to a source familiar with the schedule.

Proceeding Trump will be a full schedule of speakers that includes his son, Eric Trump, and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. The program is scheduled to begin around 6:30 p.m. Eastern.

On the final day of the Republican National Convention, GOP Senate candidate Dave McCormick addressed some bleary-eyed delegates at the Pennsylvania delegation's breakfast and talked about nearly being on stage when former President Donald Trump was shot in Butler.

McCormick reminded the group that Trump opposed him in 2022 when he ran against celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz.

Former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan is expected to speak at tonight's RNC in Milwaukee, according to a source familiar with tonight's schedule.

Hogan, real name Terry Bollea, is a WWE Hall of Famer who has appeared in several films, including Rocky III, No Holds Barred, and Suburban Commando.

Here are the latest updates on the investigation into the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Western Pennsylvania Saturday:

Officials still looking for a motive: After reportedly conducting hundreds of interviews and searching his car and home, authorities still don't know what motivated would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks.

Republicans throughout the week in Milwaukee have suggested the combative former president take a gentler tone in light of the shooting and have suggested the crisis provides a chance to de-escalate the divisive political rhetoric that has marked the 2024 campaign.

Donald Trump told the Washington Examiner that he had rewritten his acceptance speech in the wake of the Saturday shooting, emphasizing a call for national unity.

Democrats worried about President Joe Biden’s ability to win this November are making a renewed push for him to reconsider his reelection bid, using mountains of data, frank conversations and now, his own time off the campaign trail after testing positive for COVID, to encourage a reassessment.

Biden has insisted he is not backing down, adamant that he is the candidate who beat Republican Donald Trump before and will do it again this year. But publicly and privately, key Democrats are sending signals of concern, and some hope he will assess the trajectory of the race and his legacy during this few days’ pause.

The final night of the Republican National Convention is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Eastern, with former President Donald Trump slated to speak last, sometime after 10 p.m.

The convention will stream live on the RNC’s website and across all their social media channels. In Philadelphia, it will also air live on NBC, ABC, CBS, and WHYY, with most networks opting to carry the final hour beginning at 9 p.m. CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News will also offer live coverage starting hours before the event begins, each offering their own analysis.

Republicans haven't released a final list of tonight's speaker list, but Republicans expected to take part, in no apparent order, include:

• Eric Trump, the president's son

Two U.S. congressmen from Pennsylvania — one a staunch advocate of former President Donald Trump and another who has distanced himself from Trump — are absent from the Republican National Convention this week in Milwaukee. And both are out on official business reasons, their offices have said.

Rep. Scott Perry (R., Pa.) did not attend this year’s convention because he “is with his constituents for numerous scheduled events and meetings,” according to a spokesperson from Perry’s office — a notable absence given Perry’s continued allyship with Trump.