RNC 2024: Trump has arrived in Milwaukee, everything ready for the GOP convention to begin
The former president will keep his schedule as planned despite Saturday's assassination attempt and will give a speech with hopes to unite the party and the country.
Trump's plane landing in Milwaukee.
Donald Trump has arrived in Milwaukee. As announced on Truth Social, the former president decided that the assassination attempt suffered last Saturday was not going to change his schedule, and he will move forward with his engagements as planned. During the flight on his way to his official nomination as the GOP's candidate in front of 50,000 people at the Republican National Convention (RNC), the former president said, "I’m not supposed to be here, I’m supposed to be dead."
In an exclusive conversation with Michael Goodwin, of the The New York Post, while traveling to the convention, Trump said he lived a "surreal experience" and that the doctor who treated him said it was "a miracle" that he came out with only minor injuries. In fact, the former president noted that he dodged the bullet by turning his head to look at some notes on immigration at the time of the shooting.
Speech shift: From criticism of Biden to calls for unity
Speaking to The Washington Examiner, Trump acknowledged that he has changed the speech he had prepared to give during the convention. "The speech I was going to give on Thursday was going to be a humdinger. Had this not happened, this would’ve been one of the most incredible speeches. ... Honestly, it’s going to be a whole different speech now."
While he previously planned to speak about dismantling Biden's policies, now the central theme will be unity: "This is a chance to bring the whole country, even the whole world, together. The speech will be a lot different, a lot different than it would've been two days ago."
However, Trump made it clear on Truth Social that he would not modify his schedule due to external causes, and neither will the Republican Party, according to the event's organizers. The convention, however, did opt for a last-minute speaker change, adding Nikki Haley, Trump's most stubborn rival during the Republican primaries.
VP: TBD
Several of those former rivals are rumored to be a potential running mate for Trump. Doug Burgum and Tim Scott are two names gaining traction, along with Senators J.D. Vance, perhaps the favorite at the moment, and Marco Rubio. The official announcement will be made at the convention.
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