Saying ‘I had God on my side,’ Trump accepts Republican presidential nomination

Donald Trump, saying “I’m not supposed to be here tonight” after being shot by a sniper, preached harmony and promised better times Thursday night as he spoke to the nation with a simple, upbeat message: I will unify America, make sure you have a good job and stand up to America’s enemies.

Trump at first tried to encourage calm and unity. But as he kept talking, he returned to familiar, biting themes. He talked about Democrats creating a “planet of war,” and recalled the “China virus.”

He began his speech by assuring listeners he was eager for unity. “The discord and division in our society must be healed. We must 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.

“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,” he said to cheers.

Trump, his right ear bandaged as he spoke to a packed convention hall enthusiastically unified behind his White House bid, formally accepted the Republican presidential nomination five days after surviving an assassination attempt.

The 78-year-old former president has said the incident, where his right ear was grazed by a bullet, threw out his original idea for Thursday speeches, where was going to be his blunt, give-’em-hell self.

Instead, the convention heard a candidate eager to project calm, at least at the start of his address.

“In an age when our politics too often divide us, now is the time to remember that we are all fellow citizens — we are one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,” Trump said.

He described the ordeal he endured when he was shot.

“As you already know, the assassin’s bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life. So many people have asked me, ‘What happened? Tell us what happened, please.’ Therefore, I’ll tell you what happened, and you’ll never hear it from me a second time, because it’s too painful to tell,” said Trump, who then gave a detailed account of Saturday’s incident.

“I had God on my side,” he said. “If I had not moved my head at that very last instant, that assassin’s bullet would have hit its mark and I would not be here tonight.”

He told the crowd “I’m not supposed to be here tonight.” The crowd chanted back “Yes you are.” And there was a dramatic moment when he brought the uniform of firefighter Corey Comperatore, the firefighter killed Saturday by the sniper, onto the stage and kissed the helmet. He then asked for a moment of silence in Comperatore’s honor.

Trump said it made him more determined than ever to lead the country.

“Everything I have to give, with all of the energy and fight in my heart and soul, I pledge to our nation tonight,” Trump said.

The buildup to Trump’s appearance Thursday was very different from the usual introductory agenda. Instead of respected politicians, Trump was preceded by, among others, wrestling legend Hulk Hogan, Kid Rock and his raw brand of music, and Dana White, chief executive officer and president of Ultimate Fighting Championship.

As bright lights flashed his name on the stage, Lee Greenwood sang “God Bless the USA” and Trump made his entrance.

Talking about the issues

Trump methodically went issue by issue reciting his familiar themes. And some familiar jabs at Democrats.

He talked about how the party was “weaponizing” the Justice Department, and referred to the “China virus,” his term for Covid.

He ripped his enemies over elections. “We don’t have fierce people. We have people who aren’t very fierce except when it comes to cheating on elections,” he said. Trump has maintained he won the 2020 election, even though there has been no proof of widespread fraud.

He charged Democrats would “destroy Social Security and Medicare.” Democrats have historically been strong supporters of those programs.

Trump stayed away from cultural issues, not mentioning abortion. But he did mention transgender issues. “We will not have men playing women’s sports,” he said.

He then turned to issues.

“I will end the devastating inflation crisis immediately, bring down interest rates, and lower the cost of energy —we will drill, baby, drill. By doing that we will lead to a large-scale decline in prices,” Trump pledged. He promised a tax cut and lower federal debt.

He turned to one of his best-known topics.

“I will end the illegal immigration crisis by closing our border and finishing the wall, most of which I have already built.”

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“I will end every single international crisis that the current administration has created — including the horrible war with Russia and Ukraine, which would never have happened if I were president, and the war caused by the attack on Israel, both of which would never have happened if I were president,” Trump said.

He turned to the economy, insisting “inflation is eating you alive.” He talked about what he called “the worst inflation we ever had under this person,” Biden. Inflation peaked at a 9.1% annual rate in 2022, still less than the double digit inflation of the 1970s and early 1980s. The latest cost of living increase was 3% over the last 12 months.

He praised the convention’s 16-page agenda, far less than those of the platforms of the past, when he said “they write these things a hundred pages long.”

Trump, president from 2017 to 2021, is seeking to become the first ex-president since Grover Cleveland in 1892 to win a second term after losing four years earlier. From the moment they arrived Monday, Republicans here have been enthusiastic about their prospects against President Joe Biden.

Trump himself this week basked in the warmth of a convention where speaker after speaker, including some of his most bitter opponents, stood at the podium and offered effusive praise.

“I’ll start by making one thing perfectly clear, Donald Trump has my strong endorsement, period,” said former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

The crowd that had welcomed Haley into the arena with a mix of both cheers and heckling, turned to nothing but ovation.

RELATED: After Trump shooting, GOP called for unity. Do their words at RNC match their actions?

Tough talk

Not everyone was so gentle, a reminder that Trump may have a slight lead in most polls, but the race is hardly over. It’s uncertain whether Biden will stay in the race, and parties tend to get poll bounces immediately after their conventions.

Pollsters have warned that there’s roughly 40% of the electorate that will vote for anyone but Trump.

The lingering image from this convention, though, will be of an energized Trump and an energized party.

Prior to speaking, Trump spent his fourth night of the Republican National Committee sitting in a reserved area of large white seats against red backdrops with the words “Make America Great Once Again” in front and “Trump” written in white letters on the sides.

The seats stood out against the black stadium seats — the area is home of basketball’s Milwaukee Bucks — that faded into the background when the lights went down.

When the lights went off, a spotlight stayed on him.

Throughout the week, he had been joined in his booth by dignitaries like Sen. JD Vance, the vice presidential nominee, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Trump’s sons, Sen. Ted Cruz and National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson.

His wife, Melania Trump, made a surprise visit just before her husband took the stage and joined the dignitaries in the VIP section.

In a sign of reverence toward Trump, many people in the crowd wore ear patches to match the one covering Trump’s gunshot wound.

“I do think what happened Saturday has galvanized us,” said Rep. Richard Hudson, the chairman of the Republican National Congressional Committee. “I think it helped us prioritize our thoughts.”