by Ben Whedon
Former President Donald Trump on Thursday used his speech at the Republican National Convention to call for unity in the wake of last weekend’s failed assassination attempt, which he detailed.
“I stand before you tonight with a message of confidence, strength and hope. In four months, we will have won an incredible victory and embarked on the four greatest years in the history of our country,” he began. “The discord and division in our society must be healed. As Americans, we are bound by one fate and one destiny. We rise together. Or we fall apart. I am running for president of ALL America, not half America, because there is no victory in victory for half America.”
“That is why tonight, with faith and devotion, I proudly accept your nomination for president of the United States,” he said.
His appearance came after an assassination attempt in which the former commander-in-chief was shot in the right ear. Before he was led offstage at his Pennsylvania rally, Trump made a fist to show the crowd he was OK. Despite the gunshot wound, Trump still made it to the convention on time and pressed on to finally deliver his speech.
Throughout the convention, Trump wore a immense bandage over his right ear.
“As you already know, an assassin’s bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life. So many people have asked me what happened, so I’m going to tell you what happened, and you’ll never hear me say it again, because it’s too painful to say,” he said.
Trump Talks About Assassination Attempt
The former president’s later remarks were not included in the full transcript of his speech:
It was a toasty, lovely day in the early evening in Butler Township in the greater Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” he began. “The music was loud and the campaign was going really well. I walked on stage and the crowd was cheering like crazy. Everyone was happy. I started speaking very strongly and powerfully and joyfully because I was talking about the great job my administration had done on immigration at the southern border. We were very proud of that.”
“Behind me and to my right was a big screen that was just the border crossings under my command. The numbers were absolutely incredible,” he continued. “To see the graph, I started to like this turn to my right and was ready to start a little bit further into the turn, which I’m very lucky I didn’t do, when I heard a loud whoosh and felt something hit me really, really hard in my right ear.”
“I said to myself, ‘Wow, what was that? It could only be a bullet.’ And I moved my right hand to my ear, put it down. My hand was covered in blood,” he continued. “I knew right away that this was very serious, that we were under attack. And in one movement I threw myself on the ground. The bullets were still flying as very brave Secret Service agents rushed the stage.”
“I shouldn’t be here today,” Trump declared, to which the crowd responded by chanting “yes you are!”
“Thank you, but I am not,” Trump continued. “And I will tell you. I am standing before you, in this arena, only by the grace of God Almighty.”
“The crowd was confused because they thought I was dead, and there was great, great sadness. I could see it on their faces as I watched,” he continued. “They didn’t know I was watching. They thought it was over, but I saw it. I wanted to do something to let them know I was OK. I raised my right hand, looked out at the thousands and thousands of people who were waiting with bated breath, and I started shouting, ‘Fight, fight, fight.'”
Trump pays tribute to victims
“I will be forever grateful for the love shown by that great audience of patriots who stood bravely on that fateful evening in Pennsylvania,” Trump continued. “Tragically, a shooter took the life of one of our own, Corey Comparator, an incredible person, everyone tells me, incredible.”
“And seriously injured two other great warriors spoke to them today, David Dutch and James Copenhaver, two great men,” he continued. “I also spoke to all three families of these great men. Our love and prayers are with them and always will be. We will never forget them. They came to a great rally. They were serious Trump supporters.”
“I want to tell you that they were serious Trump supporters and still are, but Corey, unfortunately, we have to use the past tense. He was amazing,” Trump said. “He was a highly respected former fire chief, respected by everyone. He was accompanied by his wife, Helen, an incredible woman who I spoke to today, heartbroken, and his two precious daughters. He lost his life acting selflessly as a human shield, protecting them from flying bullets. He flew over them and got hit. What a great man he was.”
“I want to thank the fire department and the family for sending him the helmet, the uniform, it was just something, and they’re going to do something really special when they get it, but we did something that doesn’t compare to what happened, doesn’t even come close. But I’m very proud to say that in the last few days we’ve raised $6.3 million,” Trump continued.
He then observed a minute of silence in memory of Corey Comperatore, who was killed in the attack.
Recognizing the challenges
Trump vowed that “under our leadership, the United States will once again be respected. No nation will challenge our power. No enemy will doubt our might. Our borders will be completely secure. Our economy will grow. We will restore law and order to our streets, patriotism to our schools, and most importantly, we will restore peace, stability and harmony around the world.”
He noted, however, that such a development would require a change in leadership, although he avoided mentioning President Joe Biden by name.
“But to achieve that future, we must first rescue our nation from failed leadership. This will be the most important election in our country’s history,” he said. “Under this administration, we are a nation in decline. We have an inflationary crisis that is making life unaffordable, destroying the incomes of working and low-income families, and crushing our people.”
“We also have the crisis of illegal immigration – the massive invasion of our southern border that has spread misery, crime, poverty, disease and destruction in communities across our border,” he continued. “Then we have an international crisis the likes of which the world has rarely seen. War now rages in Europe and the Middle East, the specter of growing conflict looms over Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines and across Asia, and our planet teeters on the brink of World War III, and it will be a war like no other, because of weapons.”
“It’s time for a change. We simply cannot sustain four more years of this administration,” he insisted.
Promises for the future
“So tonight, whether you’ve supported me in the past or not, I hope you’ll support me in the future because I’m going to restore the American dream,” he continued. “It’s with great humility that I ask you to be excited about the future of our country.”
“First, we must provide economic relief to our citizens. Starting on day one, we will lower prices and make America affordable again!” he vowed.
“Republicans have a plan to lower prices, and they’re going to lower them very, very fast. Cutting energy costs will lower the cost of transportation, manufacturing, and all household goods,” Trump continued. “We have more liquid gold under our feet than any other country.”
“Then we will end the absurd waste of taxpayer money that is fueling the inflationary crisis,” Trump added. “And all the trillions of dollars that are sitting there and haven’t been spent yet will be redirected to important projects like roads, bridges, dams, and we will not allow them to be spent on the nonsense of the ‘Green New Scam.’”
The former president then turned his attention to his negotiations on the United States-Mexico-Canada Relations Act (USMCA).
“We have been exploited by other countries for a long time… We will not allow other countries to come in and take our jobs and rob our country,” Trump promised.
A long-standing struggle
Trump’s speech was more than just a triumph over a gunshot wound. Rather, it was the culmination of his years-long effort to retain power in the Republican Party after his 2020 election defeat.
Upon leaving office, Trump challenged the election results, and some of his supporters ultimately took part in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6. Between leaving the White House and Thursday evening, Trump saw the FBI search his Mar-a-Lago estate for classified materials. In the years since, he has faced four indictments, including two from special counsel Jack Smith, one from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and one from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Although Trump has so far fought most of the criminal cases and even had Smith’s Mar-a-Lago case dismissed, he was nonetheless found guilty of 34 criminal charges in the Bragg case. His conviction was delayed until September 18th.
Despite all the obstacles, Trump’s success in winning the GOP nomination for a third consecutive term puts him in historic territory, as relatively few former presidents have sought a return to office. So far in American history, only President Grover Cleveland has successfully reclaimed the White House after losing a second consecutive term.
At his side in the race will be Ohio GOP Sen. J.D. Vance, whom he named his vice presidential running mate earlier this week. Vance, for his part, accepted the party’s nomination on Wednesday for vice president.
“President Trump represents America’s last best hope for restoring what was lost, may never be found, a country where a working-class boy, born far from the centers of power, can stand on this stage as the next vice president of the United States of America,” he said in his speech.
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Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Xformerly Twitter.
