https://www.axios.com/2024/07/19/trump-republican-national-convention-live-updatesFormer President Trump took the stage with a bandaged ear only days after surviving an attempted assassination in Pennsylvania to accept the GOP presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention Thursday night. He left it after roughly 90 minutes of a mostly familiar stump speech.
Why it matters: While his speech — widely viewed as a test of his plea for unity — began on a personal tone, it soon returned to Trumpian talking points, misleading statements and lies.
Trump has received a week of relatively positive press while his Democratic opponent President Biden faces mounting calls from his party to exit the race.
The former president described the assassination attempt at the top of his speech, saying that it's the only time he'll talk about it, "because it's too painful to tell."
State of play: He focused primarily on foreign policy, the economy and immigration.
At on point, he described a "massive invasion at our southern border" and a planet "teetering on edge of World War III," a likely reference to the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza that have begun since his successor took office.
The big picture: The GOP tried to appear as a unified front this week, with many of Trump's onetime presidential rivals appearing as campaign surrogates. Democrats have been in disarray over the top of their ticket.
Trump's running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), spoke Wednesday night, leaning into his personal story as a Rust Belt native — a signal of the campaign's strategy ahead to win vital swing voters in key states.
Trump this year has been convicted of a felony, juggled multiple court cases with the campaign trail, and this week saw one of the federal cases against him dismissed.
