Former President Donald Trump is making an appearance at at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, his first public showing since the assassination attempt against him at his Pennsylvania rally.
The former president appeared wearing a bandage over his right ear.
Sitting in the VIP box next to him was his newly chosen vice presidential pick, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, along with some of his close allies like conservative television personality Tucker Carlson, Florida Rep. Byron Donald, House Speaker Mike Johnson and fundraiser David Sacks.
Former First Lady Melania Trump and Trump’s daughter and former White House Advisor Ivanka Trump were not immediately seen with Trump at the RNC. Both have been conspicuously absent on the campaign trail this election cycle so far.
Earlier Monday, Trump officially received the 1,215 delegates required to become the official GOP presidential nominee.
The convention kicks off days after Trump’s attempted assassination at a Saturday rally where one attendee was killed, and two others were critically injured. The alleged gunman, 20-year old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot dead moments after he opened fire.
The RNC schedule, which goes until Thursday, is expected to remain relatively unchanged, though the assassination attempt has supercharged the emotional energy of a convention that was already expected to be revved up with Trump fanfare.
“When he [Trump] walks in that arena for the first time, the decibel level will be so high it will be almost unmeasurable,” Corey Lewandowski, a close Trump ally who is advising the RNC, said Sunday.
As he walked into the arena, the crowd erupted into cheering and chants, including repeatedly shouting “Fight!” as the former president waved to the audience.
Day one of the convention has featured a slate of speakers including Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, rapper Amber Rose, Trump fundraiser David Sacks, along with former VP hopefuls like South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.
Teamsters Union President Sean O’Brien also spoke, the first Teamster to address a Republican convention. He said he knew his presence was a controversial move.
“Anti union groups demanded the president rescind his invitation. The left called me a traitor,” O’Brien said. “I don’t care about getting criticized.”
From Monday to Thursday, over 80 of Trump’s closest allies, big-ticket donors and other lawmakers are expected to speak. The City of Milwaukee expects roughly 50,000 attendees.
Here is the full list of speakers that were set to headline on Monday:
- Amber Rose
- David Sacks
- Charlie Kirk (Founder, Turning Point USA)
- Bob Unanue (CEO, Goya Foods)
- Sean O’Brien (President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters)
- Lt. Gov Mark Robinson of North Carolina
- Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson
- Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
- Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt
- Michigan Rep. John James
- Alabama Sen. Katie Britt
- South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott
- Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin
- South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem
- Florida Rep. Byron Donalds
- Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn
- Sara Workmann
- Vanessa Faura
- Mark Laws
- Benjamin Joseph
- Linda Fornos
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