Trump boasts about Musk’s $45m donations and says he took ‘bullet for democracy’ at rally: Latest

Donald Trump appeared alongside JD Vance for a campaign rally on Saturday, the pair’s first joint appearance since the Ohio senator was unveiled as Trump’s running mate at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The campaign event kicked off at 5pm local time in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a crucial swing state that Trump won in 2016 and Biden clawed back in the 2020 presidential election.

From the stage, Trump praised tech billionaire Elon Musk for supporting him and pushed back against claims a Trump 2024 campaign is a threat to democracy, while reflecting on the recent assassination attempt against him at a Pennsylvania campaign rally.

“Last week I took a bullet for democracy,” he said. “What did I do against democracy?”

Ahead of the event, JD Vance, in a post on X, called on Biden to resign from the White House.

Today’s rally follows Trump’s high-profile appearance Thursday at the RNC, where he gave a rambling 93-minute keynote speech.

Watch the rally here, via Independent TV.

Key Points

• Trump makes wild claims on immigration and boasts about Musk donations in first rally since shooting

• Trump says he knows nothing about ‘seriously extreme’ Project 2025 that mirrors many of his proposed policies

• Onstage in Michigan, Trump mocks Democrats and disavows Project 2025

• JD Vance calls on Biden to resign presidency

Here’s what Trump said at his Michigan rally about the recent assassination attempt against him

07:00 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump addressed his assassination attempt while on the campaign trail with JD Vance in Michigan on Saturday, 20 July.

“I shouldn’t be here,” the former president said. “Maybe JD or somebody else would be here but I shouldn’t be here right now. Something very special happened, let’s face it.”

Trump went on to thank the hospital that treated him.

Saturday’s rally was his first since the Pennsylvania rally where one person was killed and multiple people were injured.

Watch below.

Trump addresses assassination attempt on campaign trail: ‘I shouldn’t be here’

At Michigan rally, Trump returns to familiar lies and new brags

05:30 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump traveled to Michigan on Saturday for his first campaign appearance since being shot last week, and his first alongside his newly announced running mate JD Vance, the US senator for Ohio.

His ear may have been bandaged, but otherwise, Trump seemed little different than his old self, continuing to mock Democrats, lie about the 2020 election, demonize migrants in racist terms, praise right-wing dictators, and tell bizarre stories of dubious truthfulness.

More details in our full story.

Trump makes wild immigration claims and boasts about Musk donations at Michigan rally

ICYMI: Trump says he knows nothing about ‘seriously extreme’ Project 2025 that mirrors many of his proposed policies

04:15 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump called Project 2025, a 900-page blueprint for his second presidency, “seriously extreme” at his first rally since the assassination attempt against him.

Trump made the comments at a rally in Michigan on Saturday afternoon. The event comes one week after Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire at his Butler, Pennsylvania rally last weekend. Crooks killed one attendee and injured two others while one of his shots grazed Trump’s ear.

“Like some on the right, severe right, came up with this Project 25, I don’t even know, some of them I know who they are, but they’re very, very conservative,” Trump said. “They’re sort of the opposite of the radical left.”

“You have the radical left and the radical right and they come up — I don’t know what the hell it is, it’s Project 25,” he continued. “‘He’s involved in project — and then they read some of the things and they are extreme, they’re seriously extreme.

Katie Hawkinson reports.

Trump calls Project 2025 ‘seriously extreme,’ claims he knows nothing about plan

Trump repeats false claim that he won nonexistent Michigan ‘Man of the Year’ award — again

03:00 , Josh Marcus

During his speech Thursday night, Trump again repeated the false claim that he was given a non-existent Man of the Year award in Michigan.

He’s been telling this humdinger for years.

Trump repeats false claim that he won nonexistent Michigan ‘Man of the Year’ award

Trump again attacks Shawn Fain, head of United Auto Workers

02:03 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump may have been in Michigan, cradle of the US auto industry, for a campaign rally on Thursday, but that didn’t stop him from lashing out against the industry’s most powerful union, the United Auto Workers.

“They’ve got to get rid of that guy,” he said of UAW leader Shawn Fain. “He’s bad news.”

The UAW endorsed Biden in January, praising his support for striking workers and US manufacturing of EVs.

“Joe Biden bet on the American worker while Donald Trump blamed the American worker,” Fain said at the time.

“If our endorsement must be earned, Joe Biden has earned it.”

Trump makes wild claims on immigration and boasts about Musk donations in first rally since shooting

00:33 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump traveled to Michigan on Saturday for his first campaign appearance since being shot last week, and his first alongside his newly announced running mate JD Vance, the US senator for Ohio.

His ear may have been bandaged, but otherwise, Trump seemed little different than his old self, continuing to mock Democrats, lie about the 2020 election, demonize migrants in racist terms, praise right-wing dictators, and tell bizarre stories of dubious truthfulness.

Trump didn’t waste time in quickly addressing the recent assassination attempt.

“I stand before you only by the grace of almighty God,” he told the crowd in Grand Rapids. “I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t be here.”

More details in our full story.

Trump makes wild immigration claims and boasts about Musk donations at Michigan rally

Trump says he knows nothing about ‘seriously extreme’ Project 2025 that mirrors many of his proposed policies

00:30 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump called Project 2025, a 900-page blueprint for his second presidency, “seriously extreme” at his first rally since the assassination attempt against him.

Trump made the comments at a rally in Michigan on Saturday afternoon. The event comes one week after Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire at his Butler, Pennsylvania rally last weekend. Crooks killed one attendee and injured two others while one of his shots grazed Trump’s ear.

“Like some on the right, severe right, came up with this Project 25, I don’t even know, some of them I know who they are, but they’re very, very conservative,” Trump said. “They’re sort of the opposite of the radical left.”

“You have the radical left and the radical right and they come up — I don’t know what the hell it is, it’s Project 25,” he continued. “‘He’s involved in project — and then they read some of the things and they are extreme, they’re seriously extreme.

Katie Hawkinson has the story.

Trump calls Project 2025 ‘seriously extreme,’ claims he knows nothing about plan

Trump campaign is preparing to go to battle with Kamala Harris in 2024 campaign if Biden leaves: report

00:03 , Josh Marcus

The Trump campaign is reportedly already planning for a potential battle with Kamala Harris if Joe Biden decides to drop out of the 2024 race.

That’s included drawing up attack ads, poll-testing Harris’s vulnerabilities on various issues, and compiling opposition research, two individuals briefed on the matter told The New York Times.

The Trump camp’s thinking is that if Biden drops out, Harris will be the most likely replacement, given that the Democrats wouldn’t want to alienate the Black voters in their base by sidelining the nation’s first Black vice-president, the individuals told the paper.

The effort to plan for a Trump-Harris match-up predates even the Republican National Convention, according to the sources, with the Trump campaign reportedly planning out anti-Harris signs and videos that could’ve debuted at the RNC if the Democrats had announced a switch-up ahead of the event.

More details in our full story.

Trump is preparing to go to war with Kamala Harris in 2024 if Biden leaves: report

Donald Trump continues to echo far-right immigration theory

23:27 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump continues to echo the racist, far-right “Great Replacement” theory, which alleges that elites are encouraging open borders to seize political power and displace White Americans.

“This is an invasion of our country,” Trump said of migrants entering the US.

“With policy like this, nobody can get elected,” Trump continued, talking about Democrats. “The only way you can get elected is to cheat, ant they are really good at it. That’s the only thing they are good at.”

Trump then reiterated his threat to carry out “the largest deportation operation in the history of our country.”

Trump tells bizarre story about offering to take Kim Jong Un to a Yankees game

23:09 , Josh Marcus

We’ve now entered the foreign policy section of Trump’s stump speech, and it’s predictably bizarre.

After describing how world leaders like China’s Xi Jinping wrote him “beautiful” notes after the assassination attempt, Trump began riffing about bringing Kim Jong Un to a baseball game as a way to stop him from acquiring more nuclear weapons.

“Just relax, chill, you’ve got so much nuclear weapons (sic),” Trump told the crowd. “Let’s go to a baseball game. I’ll show you what a baseball game is. We’ll go watch the Yankees.”

It’s not clear Trump actually said any of this to the North Korean leader, but that’s probably beside the point for this crowd, who is laughing along with the former president regardless.

Donald Trump brags about donations from Elon Musk — then slams electric vehicles

23:00 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump has spent a considerable amount of time during his Michigan speech today bashing electric vehicles — be they boats, military hardware, or consumer cars and trucks — even as he praised Tesla co-founder Elon Musk for his support and considerable political donations to the Trump 2024 effort.

Watch his full remarks below.

Onstage in Michigan, Trump mocks Democrats and disavows Project 2025

22:50 , Josh Marcus

Not surprisingly, Trump began his remarks at a Michigan campaign rally on Thursday by mocking the chaos in the Democratic party over whether Joe Biden will continue to be the candidate in 2024.

“They have no idea who their candidate is, and neither do we,” Trump said, before moving on to conduct a faux straw poll in the audience over who the Dems should pick and mocking vice-president Kamala Harris and Mitchigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, both of whom have been discussed as potential replacements.

The former president also attempted to distance himself from Project 2025, a policy blueprint for his potential second term from a far-right think tank, despite his well-documented ties to its authors.

“I don’t know what the hell it is...They’re seriously extreme, but I don’t know anything about it. I don’t want to know anything about it,” Trump said. “But what they do is misinformation, and they keep saying he’s a threat to democracy. The hell did I do with democracy? Last I took a bullet for democracy.”

‘I shouldn’t be here’: Trump addresses assassination during Michigan appearance

22:32 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump didn’t waste time in Michigan today and quickly addressed the recent assassination attempt against him.

“I stand before you only by the grace of almighty God,” he told the crowd in Grand Rapids. “I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t be here.”

“We will fight, fight, fight, and we will win, win win,” Trump added, a reference to when he held up his fist and chanted “fight” after being shot at in Pennsylvania last week.

The crowd joined the former president and chanted along with him.

JD Vance introduces Donald Trump

22:22 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump is making his way to the stage in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for his first joint campaign appearance with vice-presidential nominee JD Vance.

It’s the former president’s first rally since an event in Pennsylvania last week, where an assassin’s bullet grazed Trump’s ear.

WATCH: JD Vance accuses Kamala Harris of doing nothing but ‘collect a check’

22:17 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance joined the former president on the campaign trail in Michigan on Saturday, 20 July.

Vance accused Kamala Harris of accomplishing little during her time in the White House as Joe Biden’s vice president.

“What the hell have you done other than collect a check?” Vance asked during his speech, prompting the audience to burst into applause.

Trump introduced Vance as his vice president pick during the Republican National Convention last week, where he officially became the Republican presidential nominee.

Watch below.

Trump protected by ‘doubled down’ security presence after assassination attempt

22:09 , Josh Marcus

A week after a would-be assassin nearly killed Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally, the Secret Service and local police have reportedly “doubled down” their presence around the former president as Trump prepares to take the stage this evening in Michigan.

”I think you can already see they’ve doubled down in a big way,” former Michigan congressman and retired FBI agent Mike Rogers told The New York Post of today’s event, which takes place inside an indoor arena.

“It is a little easier to secure an enclosed building than an open-air building. You’ll see a heightened sense of security at all levels. But even with that said, I have not seen this many police and Secret Service in a very long time.”

Gretchen Whitmer tells Trump ‘have a good trip’ in cheeky welcome video to Michigan

21:30 , Josh Marcus

Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer welcomed Donald Trump and JD Vance to the state ahead of the pair’s campaign rally planned for later today.

Whitmer, a leading Democrat who has been discussed as a potential replacement for Joe Biden on the 2024 ticket, used the faux PSA-style video to tout Democratic policies on labor, abortion rights, and taxes, before telling the Trump campaign, “Have a good trip!”

Watch her full remarks below.

JD Vance makes surprise first appearance at Trump rally

21:04 , Josh Marcus

JD Vance made a quick appearance on Saturday to warm up the crowd ahead of a Trump campaign rally planned for this evening in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The US senator for Ohio confessed that seeing his name on campaign signs was still “a little bit weird,” but seemed to slot into the Trump campaign’s signature issues easily.

“We’ve gotta shut down that border, shut down the fentanyl, and make America safe for American citizens again,” he said.

He framed the election as a rare chance to compare candidates head-to-head, after four years of Trump then four years of Biden.

“Who could possibly reject the idea that four years of Trump has been a hell of a lot better than four years of Joe Biden?” Vance added, to cheers from the crowd.

He’s expected to appear onstage again when the full rally kicks off at 5pm ET.

Former White House doctor says Trump ‘doing well’ after assassination attempt

21:00 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump is “doing well” after a would-be assassin wounded the former president in a shooting last week, according to former White House physician and current Texas congressman Ronny Jackson.

“He is recovering as expected from the gunshot wound sustained last Saturday afternoon,” Jackson said in a statement.

The Texas congressman said he perosnally checked on Trump the night of the shooting, and described the former president suffering a 2 cm wide wound to the ear, which caused “significant bleeding” and “marked swelling of the entire upper ear.”

Trump got an initial CT scan of his head at a Pennsylvania, and will continue with a further battery of tests with his personal physicians, including a hearing exam, Jackson added.

How to watch Trump and Vance’s first campaign rally together

20:45 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump and JD Vance are appearing for the first time together at a campaign rally in Michigan today.

Watch the event live here via Independent TV on YouTube.

VIDEO: Trump lands in Michigan

20:35 , Josh Marcus

We’re just hours away from the Trump-Vance campaign’s first joint rally in Michigan.

You know it’s official because the Ohio senator’s name has been added to the decorations on the fleet of Trump campaign planes.

Here’s video of the Republican nominees touching down in Michigan.

Trump rally shooter flew drone to scope out event site hours before opening fire: report

20:16 , Josh Marcus

The 20-year-old who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump last week flew a drone over the Butler, Pennsylvania rally site hours before the former president took the stage.

Thomas Matthew Crooks sent the drone over the site the morning of July 13, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing law enforcement officials briefed on the shooting.

He used a pre-programmed flight path, which officials said may mean he used the drone more than once to scope out the area, according to the Journal.

Crooks also received several packages labeled as containing “hazardous materials” and performed Google searches for Trump rally dates as well as for President Joe Biden and next month’s Democratic National Convention, the Journal reports.

Katie Hawkinson has the details.

Trump rally shooter flew drone to scope out site hours before opening fire: report

JD Vance roadblocked dozens of US diplomats while he obsessed over their views on gay rights

19:25 , Josh Marcus

Before he was Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate, JD Vance was known, at least in the State Department, for grilling nominees with a questionnaire about LGBTQ+ rights, Pride flags, diversity and inclusion, and other so-called “woke” issues,” part of a series of holds he placed on Biden nominees that delayed the confirmation of more than 30 diplomats to senior positions until this April.

“The publics of many of our allies, and those countries we seek to build stronger relationships with, have traditional Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or Hindu moral values,” reads one section of the questionnaire, which was obtained by The Washington Post. “If confirmed, how would you explain to them what the United States’ promoting ‘human rights for LGBTQ people’ would look like in their country?”

Another asks potenital nominees how they respond to a 2021 Biden administration directive allowing the State Department to fly the LGBTQ+ Pride flag over US embassies, after the Trump administration forbid the practice.

“Where, if anywhere, do you believe it is not appropriate to ‘celebrate and prominently support local and regional Pride celebrations’?” Vance asked.

More details in our full story.

JD Vance roadblocked dozens of US diplomats as he obsessed over views on gay rights

Trump campaign already preparing for a battle with Kamala Harris

19:04 , Josh Marcus

So far, despite intense pressure from his own party to move aside, Joe Biden remains the Democratic candidate for 2024.

That hasn’t stopped the Trump campaign from preparing for a battle with Kamala Harris if she ends up taking the top spot on the ticket.

The Trump campaign is reportedly preparing to go to war with the vice-president and former US senator for California, compiling opposition research and drafting plans for attack ads, according to a report in The New York Times.

For the moment, however, Biden is still in the top spot, weighing criticisms from his fellow Democrats and recovering from a case of Covid, as Katie Hawkinson reports.

Pelosi reportedly against Harris coronation as Biden faces mounting calls to quit

JD Vance calls on Biden to resign presidency

18:21 , Josh Marcus

Many high-profile Democrats are calling on Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential campaign and yield the stage to someone else, but Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance took things one step further on Saturday.

The senator from Ohio argued in a post on X that if Biden is unfit to run again, he should also leave the White House immediately.

“Everyone calling on Joe Biden to *stop running* without also calling on him to resign the presidency is engaged in an absurd level of cynicism,” Vance wrote. “If you can’t run, you can’t serve. He should resign now.”

Trump got post-assassination attempt bump in the polls

17:47 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump may have been wounded, but his campaign seems not to have missed a beat since he survived an assassination attempt last week.

According to a survey of eligible voters in swing states Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania from The Telegraph, 53 percent think Trump will win in November, up almost three points since a similar pollon July 10, before the shooting.

ICYMI: White nationalist bodybuilders and liberal elites: Here’s who JD Vance is following on X

17:10 , Josh Marcus

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance follows several accounts on X that espouse far-right and white nationalist views, according to an analysis by The Independent.

The 39-year-old Ohio senator, who rose to fame with his best-selling memoir Hillbilly Elegy and was named as Donald Trump’s running-mate this week, follows 1,132 people on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Among them are two of the most popular figures in the Right Wing Bodybuilders scene — an online community in which many share a worldview that combines white nationalist ideas with anti-globalism, weight-lifting and nutrition.

One of them is Raw Egg Nationalist, an account that has shared Adolf Hitler memes, quoted Mein Kampf and promoted the ‘Great Replacement’ conspiracy — a theory positing that Western elites are intentionally replacing White populations with migrants — to its 200,000 plus followers.

Read more from Richard Hall and Isaac Lozano.

JD Vance is following white nationalists on X

Former Secret Service officials say agents shouldn’t have let Trump pump fist on stage

16:50 , Josh Marcus

After Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at an event in Pennsylvania last week, he raised a fist to the crowd, and the image of the defiant president standing with streaks of blood across his face quickly became one for the history books.

Amid chaos and gunfire, Trump raised his fist and projected a characteristic image of defiance

However, according to former Secret Service agents, the former president’s security detail should’ve never let him stay so exposed on stage after the shots rang out.

According to former Secret Service Director John Magaw, standard protocol is to fully surround the president and keep their head down as they are moved to safety.

“It was absolutely terrible coverage trying to get him out,” he told USA Today.

“It should have been faster,” A.T. Smith, deputy director of the Secret Service from 2012 to 2015, told the paper.

Far-right attacks JD Vance for wife Usha’s Indian-American heritage

16:30 , Josh Marcus

For years, Donald Trump has been pulling the Republican party further towards nativism, whether it was his public embrace of the far-right extremists at Charlottesville in 2017 or his virulently racist recent remarks that immigrants are “poisoning the blood” of America.

Now, those same hard-right views are coming to the fore against Usha Vance, Trump VP pick Senator JD Vance’s wife, who is Indian-American.

As The Washington Post notes, right-wing commentators quickly began attacking the Vances after the Ohio official joined the Trump ticket.

“What exactly are we getting here?” white supremacist Nick Fuentes, who once dined with Donald Trump, asked on a recent podcast, saying he doesn’t trust the “the guy who has an Indian wife” to “support White identity.”

Why Trump and Vance have their eyes on Michigan

16:14 , Josh Marcus

It’s no accident that Donald Trump and JD Vance are making their first joint campaign appearance in Michigan.

Michigan is seen as a crucial battleground state in the 2024 election.

In 2016, Trump won the state by a razor-thin margin, just over 10,000 votes.

Four years later, Biden was able to dramatically turn the tide, winning Michigan by roughly 154,000 votes on his way to the White House.

The Trump campaign is currently projected to have a modest 2.2 percent lead in the state, according to an average of state polls calculated by 538.

Trump shooter flew drone over rally ahead of assassination attempt: report

15:57 , Josh Marcus

Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump at an event last week, managed to fly a drone and obtain aerial footage of the Pennsylvania fairgrounds the same day the former president took the stage there, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The apparent breach is sure to prompt further questions about Trump’s security at the event.

Police encountered Crooks multiple times but didn’t stop him from climbing onto a roof near the rally and firing on the former president, wounding Trump, killing one attendee, and harming two other rallygoers.

The Secret Service has also suggested it faced “limited resources” ahead of the shooting.

‘Limited’ Secret Service resources before Trump shooting, Jim Jordan claims

Pete Buttigieg slams JD Vance for changing his tune on Trump

15:29 , Josh Marcus

Joe Biden may be at a perilous moment in his campaign, but that hasn’t stopped Biden administration officials from going on the attack against the Trump.

Last night, in an interview that quickly began circulating widely on social media, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg went on Real Time with Bill Maher and savaged Trump VP pick JD Vance as a thin-skinned political climber, someone who would “say whatever they needed to to get ahead.”

“Five years ago that seemed like being the anti-Trump Republican, so that’s what he was,” Buttigieg said.

The Biden official also pointed out just how shocking it was that JD Vance once compared Trump to an “opioid,” given Vance’s roots in Appalachia, which has struggled with a bitter opioid crisis.

“That really is the darkest thinking you could possibly say about Donald Trump, at least in public, but behind the scenes he was apparently calling him Hitler,” Buttigieg went on.

The secretary then compared Vance to Mike Pence, Trump’s former vice-president, who he argued made numerous moral compromises for power to join the Trump White House, only to end up being nearly killed during the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.

For more on JD Vance’s past remarks about Trump, here’s this story from Justin Rohrlich.

JD Vance’s old roommate says ‘hypocrite’ VP nominee drank ‘Trump-era poison’

Republicans already shaping election message around Kamala Harris

14:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia writes:

Throughout the four days of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, GOP lawmakers and officials seemed to sense that Joe Biden might be on the out and that Kamala Harris might replace him at the top of the ticket. And they were already preparing the talking points.

Read on...

Republicans are already shaping their message around Kamala Harris

Final search of wannabe Trump assassin was for porn

13:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The final internet search of wannabe Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks was for porn, a law enforcement official has told The Daily Beast.

The FBI’s Operational Technology Division in Quantico, Virginia finally accessed the gunman’s encrypted Samsung phone after it was flown on an FBI plane from the Pittsburgh field office where attempts to access its contents failed.

A law enforcement official told the outlet that the only other recent activity on the gunman’s phone was texts from his parents, asking about his whereabouts. The texts from Crooks’ parents started at about 1pm and continued during the afternoon, according to the report.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Wannabe Trump assassin’s final internet search was for porn

Trump’s RNC speech ‘first good thing to happen to Democrats in weeks’ says ex-Obama official

12:30 , Oliver O'Connell

An ex-senior adviser to former President Barack Obama praised Donald Trump’s lengthy, rambling speech at the Republican National Convention as being “good” for Democrats.

“This is the first good thing that‘s happened to Democrats in the last three weeks,” David Axelrod said on CNN. “This really reminded everyone why Donald Trump is fundamentally unpopular outside this room.”

Kelly Rissman reports.

Ex-Obama adviser says Trump’s RNC speech is ‘first good thing’ for Democrats in weeks

Trump shares ‘painful’ story of assassination attempt in mammoth RNC speech

11:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Five days after a .22 calibre bullet came within inches of ending his life, Donald Trump recounted his brush with death, and cast himself as a triumphant hero, as he accepted his party’s presidential nomination for the third consecutive election cycle on the final day of the Republican National Convention.

The ex-president, who wore a bandage on the ear that was grazed during the attempt on his life, told the crowd of delegates and supporters on Thursday that he was “not supposed to be here” and credited his presence on the stage in Wisconsin to “the grace of almighty God.”

Eric Garcia and Andrew Feinberg report.

Trump shares ‘painful’ story of assassination attempt in mammoth RNC speech

Hulk Hogan rips off his shirt in wild RNC speech

10:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Probably the most memorable part of the night — or of any convention(?) — Hulk Hogan hamming it up for the cameras, doing his thing, and ripping open his shirt.

Hulk Hogan rips off his shirt in wild RNC speech calling for ‘Trump-o-mania’

Read Trump’s 93-minute address to Republican party delegates

09:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Just kidding.

Here’s John Bowden with the highlights.

Trump’s rambling, 93-minute speech was hard to watch — even for Republicans

Alina Habba’s tearful tribute to ‘my friend’ Donald Trump

08:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Attorney Alina Habba gave a tearful tribute to her ‘friend’ former President Donald Trump during her appearance at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night.

“I know you’re all used to hearing me shouting outside a courthouse, but tonight I want to take you behind the law and behind the headlines and share with you a side of President Trump that reveals his character, his kindness, and his commitment to saving this great country,” she said.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Alina Habba’s tearful tribute to ‘my friend’ Donald Trump

07:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Watch moment RNC senators confront Secret Service director over Trump shooting

How the Trump family made its mark on the Republican convention

06:30 , Oliver O'Connell

John Bowden filed this report from on the ground at the RNC in Milwaukee.

From ‘Kai Trump 2040’ to kingmaker Don Jr, the Trump family is everywhere at the RNC

Glitter hats, golden sneakers and bandaged ears

04:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Speaking of fashion...

Here’s Michelle Del Rey with some of the highlights of Milwaukee Fashion Week... sorry, the MAGA Republican National Convention.

The weird and wonderful fashions of the RNC

Trump supporters are wearing bandages on their ears after Trump shooting

03:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Republican National Convention attendees have found a somewhat creative way to show their support for Donald Trump following the assassination attempt over the weekend.

On Tuesday, several convention delegates were seen sporting ear bandages in a nod to the former president’s current look after he was struck in the right ear by a bullet in the attack.

One Republican delegate even went as far as to describe the ear bandage as “the newest fashion trend.”

Rachel Sharp reports.

Trump supporters are wearing bandages at RNC in support of ex-president being shot

02:30 , Oliver O'Connell

What happened when a vegan BBQ stand set up at the RNC

Kari Lake is schooled by reporter at RNC over JD Vance’s Trump is ‘Hitler’ comment

01:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake appeared caught off guard when questioned about Donald Trump‘s running mate pick JD Vance likening the former president to Adolf Hitler.

Kelly Rissman reports.

Kari Lake is schooled by reporter at RNC over JD Vance’s Trump is ‘Hitler’ comment

With focus on Trump’s mental health, George Conway launches ‘Anti-Psychopath PAC’

Saturday 20 July 2024 00:30 , Oliver O'Connell

For weeks, reports have abounded about President Joe Biden’s cognitive condition in the wake of his terrible performance at last month’s CNN presidential debate, with some Democrats going so far as to call for him to quit the presidential race.

But not nearly as much ink has been spilt on the mental condition of Donald Trump.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Milwaukee.

George Conway launches ‘Anti-Psychopath PAC’ focused on Trump’s mental health

Firefighters pay tribute to chief killed by Trump shooter at funeral

Saturday 20 July 2024 00:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Hundreds of people in the small town of Cabot, Pennsylvania gathered on Friday to pay tribute to Corey Comperatore, the retired volunteer fire chief who was shot and killed by a gunman at a Trump rally last weekend.

Firefighters honored Comperatore, loading his casket – draped with an American flag – onto a firetruck to be driven from Cabot Methodist Church.

Members of the community lined the streets waving American flags and holding posters, mourning the loss of a local hero.

Ariana Baio reports.

Firefighters pay tribute to chief killed by Trump shooter at funeral

Analysis: If you’re a ‘Real American’, you’re in with Trump. What does that really mean?

Friday 19 July 2024 23:30 , Oliver O'Connell

When Hulk Hogan took the stage at the Fiserv Forum for the final night of the Republican National Convention, he said the vibe was so electric that he felt like he was back in his WWE days, wrestling Andre the Giant.

Eric Garcia was there.

If you’re a ‘Real American’, you’re in with Trump. What does that really mean?

Final search of wannabe Trump assassin was for porn

Friday 19 July 2024 23:00 , Oliver O'Connell

The final internet search of wannabe Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks was for porn, a law enforcement official has told The Daily Beast.

The FBI’s Operational Technology Division in Quantico, Virginia finally accessed the gunman’s encrypted Samsung phone after it was flown on an FBI plane from the Pittsburgh field office where attempts to access its contents failed.

A law enforcement official told the outlet that the only other recent activity on the gunman’s phone was texts from his parents, asking about his whereabouts. The texts from Crooks’ parents started at about 1pm and continued during the afternoon, according to the report.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Wannabe Trump assassin’s final internet search was for porn

America wants to know!

Friday 19 July 2024 22:45 , Oliver O'Connell

RNC was ‘executed well’ but Donald is an ‘empty soul’, says ex-Trump White House lawyer

Friday 19 July 2024 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell

To attorney Ty Cobb, who served as Donald Trump’s White House counsel during the ex-president’s first year in office, this week’s four-day GOP nominating pageant was, for the party’s purposes, “executed well.” Republicans have never appeared more unified, and their messaging is clear, Cobb said Friday morning.

“Sadly though, and obviously, it is mostly theater,” Cobb told The Independent. “Trump is an empty soul. He doesn’t stand for anything but pure ambition. There is no principle at all.”

Justin Rohrlich reports.

Ex-Trump White House Lawyer: RNC was ‘executed well’ but Donald is an ‘empty soul’

Republicans already shaping their message around Kamala Harris

Friday 19 July 2024 22:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Throughout the four days of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, GOP officials and lawmakers seemed to sense that Joe Biden might be on the out and that Kamala Harris might replace him at the top of the ticket.

And they were already preparing the talking points, as Eric Garcia reports.

Republicans are already shaping their message around Kamala Harris

Trump shooter may have scoped out rally site SIX days before attack

Friday 19 July 2024 21:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks appears to have scoped out the site of the former president’s campaign rally six days before he went to the Butler, Pennsylania, event and opened fire, according to a report.

The FBI provided an update on the shooting investigation to Senate and House lawmakers on Wednesday, revealing new details about the 20-year-old gunman’s actions prior to the shooting.

Sources told CNN that Crooks’ online search history revealed he had looked up information on Ethan Crumbley, the school shooter who killed four students at Oxford High School in Michigan in 2021. A screenshot of Crumbley’s arrest photo was also found on Crooks’ personal cellphone, the outlet reported.

Graig Graziosi reports.

Trump rally shooter’s search for Ethan Crumbley revealed

Secret Service blasts ‘disgusting’ right-wing attacks on female agents after Trump rally shooting

Friday 19 July 2024 21:00 , Oliver O'Connell

The Secret Service said it was “appalled” by “disparaging” and “disgusting” attacks on women who serve as agents in response to the string of sexist comments from people online criticizing the agency’s failure to prevent the Trump rally shooting.

In the week after a gunman opened fire at a Trump rally in Pennslyvania, killing one person and injuring three others including the former president, some notable right-wingers have accused women in the Secret Service of failing to do their job.

Ariana Baio has the story.

Secret Service condemns attacks on female agents after Trump rally shooting

Trump’s rambling, over-long speech at the Republican convention was taxing even for delegates

Friday 19 July 2024 20:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s campaign spent the better part of four days promising a changed Trump — a more solemn, thoughtful man, whose politics were forever altered by a would-be assassin’s bullet.

That image was shattered over 93 minutes on Thursday night.

John Bowden filed this report from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Trump's rambling 93-minute speech reveals the US is set to be dragged back to 2016

Why did some of the UK’s worst political rejects like Johnson and Truss spend the week parading about the RNC?

Friday 19 July 2024 20:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Mike Bedigan writes:

Napoleon had the island of Saint Helena, Leon Trotsky had various spots across Turkey, Norway, and Mexico. These days political exiles from the UK all appear to end up in a far more desolate place: The Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Among the crowds of US political bigwigs, state delegates, and zealous supporters of Donald Trump, several familiar British faces have appeared – usually with the prefix “former” before their job title – to rub shoulders with the GOP elite.

At the 2024 convention, where Trump officially accepted the Republican presidential nomination and selected JD Vance as his running mate, a roll call of infamous names from across the pond dropped by to pay their respects.

Read on...

UK political rejects like Boris Johnson and Liz Truss spent the week at the RNC

COMMENT: Donald Trump’s message is loud and clear – and it isn’t one of unity, no matter what he says

Friday 19 July 2024 19:30 , Oliver O'Connell

On Donald Trump’s convention speech, Jon Sopel writes:

The political unity that he is offering is very much on his terms: you can have political unity and America will come together – but only if you stop persecuting me; if you stop the prosecutions. It will only happen once you realise that I am the true champion of democracy, not its destroyer. In other words, can we all forget about 6 January, please?

Continue reading...

Trump’s message isn’t one of unity, no matter what he says

Trump’s RNC speech is ‘first good thing to happen to Democrats in weeks’, says Obama official

Friday 19 July 2024 19:00 , Oliver O'Connell

An ex-senior adviser to former President Barack Obama praised Donald Trump’s lengthy, rambling speech at the Republican National Convention as being “good” for Democrats.

“This is the first good thing that‘s happened to Democrats in the last three weeks,” David Axelrod said on CNN. “This really reminded everyone why Donald Trump is fundamentally unpopular outside this room.”

Kelly Rissman reports.

Ex-Obama adviser says Trump’s RNC speech is ‘first good thing’ for Democrats in weeks

Friday 19 July 2024 18:45 , Oliver O'Connell

In break of tradition, Melania Trump ‘repeatedly turned down’ requests to speak at RNC

Friday 19 July 2024 18:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Melania Trump reportedly declined multiple requests to speak at the 2024 Republican National Convention breaking with the modern tradition of a candidate’s spouse addressing a crowd of delegates and potential voters.

This year, the ever-elusive former first lady chose not to speak about her husband’s personality, his record or his hopes for the country, instead offering her silent presence on Thursday evening when Trump accepted his party’s official nomination.

Ariana Baio reports.

Melania ‘repeatedly turned down’ requests to speak at RNC

Hundreds of firefighters gather for funeral of former chief killed in Trump rally shooting

Friday 19 July 2024 18:22 , AP

A fire truck carried Corey Comperatore’s flag-draped casket to a Pennsylvania church on Friday for the funeral of the former fire chief, who was shot and killed when a gunman tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump last weekend.

Hundreds of firefighters arrived at the church in a procession of over 100 trucks in a show of support for Comperatore’s grieving relatives and friends. Outside the church, a massive American flag hung from the ladder of a fire truck.

A sharpshooter team mounted on a nearby rooftop served as a reminder of last weekend’s bloodshed. Officials have said that Comperatore spent his final moments shielding his wife and daughter from gunfire at Trump’s rally last Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Trump, who suffered an ear injury in the shooting but was not seriously hurt, is not going to the funeral because of Secret Service concerns, according to a person familiar with the situation who was not authorized to speak publicly.

‘Everyday Americans’ (and Trump golf club employees) praise his game

Friday 19 July 2024 18:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Among the high-profile speakers lavishing praise on Trump at the RNC on Thursday were a number of “everyday Americans,” two of whom had something in common: Theyboth work for the former president at his golf courses.

As well as extolling the virtues of the GOP presidential nominee, one took pains to note that Trump was “one hell of a golfer”, an important skill for a serious politician intent on resolving the problems of an ever-more complex and fractured world.

Sigh.

Here’s Mike Bedigan.

‘Everyday Americans’ (and Trump golf club employees) praise his game

Five days after Republican convention, Kamala Harris to visit Milwaukee

Friday 19 July 2024 17:47 , Oliver O'Connell

Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for a campaign event on Tuesday, July 23, five days after the Republican National Convention was held in the city.

It is her fifth visit to the Badger State this year.

Friday 19 July 2024 17:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Whoopi Goldberg tells viewers not to ‘fall’ for Donald Trump’s granddaughter’s speech

Stephen Colbert has an idea for why Trump’s RNC address was so long: ‘He thought four more years meant of this speech’

Friday 19 July 2024 17:00 , Joe Sommerlad

The late-night host roasted Trump last night for delivering the longest-ever convention acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, questioning whether the former president had mistaken the meaning behind his supporters’ chants.

“We are live, but after watching that speech, I’m dead inside,” Colbert said on his show on Thursday night.

“Tonight, this is true… Trump gave the longest convention address of all time. Apparently, when they were chanting ‘four more years,’ he thought they meant of this speech.”

Stephen Colbert offers idea for why Trump’s RNC speech was so long

Ivanka Trump returns to politics as she joins father Donald on stage after rambling RNC speech

Friday 19 July 2024 16:30 , Joe Sommerlad

The former president’s favourite daughter made her return to politics and her old man’s campaign trail on Thursday night as she joined her family on stage to close out the Republican National Convention.

Ivanka worked as a senior adviser in the Trump administration but — following his exit from the White House in January 2021 in the wake of the January 6 Capitol riot — has distanced herself from his re-election goals and the world of politics altogether.

After leaving Washington DC, Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner moved to Miami with their three children.

And when, in November 2022, Trump announced that he would run for the White House for a third time, she made it clear she did not want to return to politics.

“I love my father very much,” she wrote in a statement at the time. “This time around, I am choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family. I do not plan to be involved in politics.”

Rachel Sharp has more on her surprise return.

Ivanka Trump returns to politics as she joins father Donald on stage at RNC

'Direct, powerful, tremendous': Republicans react to Trump's convention speech

Friday 19 July 2024 16:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Vance’s Silicon Valley connections run deep. So do Trump’s

Friday 19 July 2024 15:30 , Joe Sommerlad

Elon Musk and Peter Thiel are key figures in a rising network of pro-Trump techies who are channelling tens of millions of dollars towards Republican campaigns.

And Thiel is the one who reportedly introduced Vance to Trump in the first place.

For Indy Premium, Io Dodds reports on the GOP’s increasingly cosy relationship with Big Tech.

JD Vance’s Silicon Valley connections run deep. So do Trump’s

Here’s who JD Vance is following on X

Friday 19 July 2024 15:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance follows several accounts on X that espouse far-right and white nationalist views, according to an analysis by Richard Hall and Isaac Lozano for The Independent.

Here’s what’s on JD Vance’s X feed

Glitter hats, golden sneakers and bandaged ears: The weird and wonderful fashions of the RNC

Friday 19 July 2024 14:30 , Joe Sommerlad

There were plenty of colorful twists on traditional outfits at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week and, in the wake of Trump’s wounding in an assassination attempt, an unusual new one, writes Michelle Del Rey.

The weird and wonderful fashions of the RNC

JD Vance’s populism finds a rude awakening in the union-busting GOP

Friday 19 July 2024 14:00 , Joe Sommerlad

The ascension of JD Vance, first to the Senate and now as Donald Trump’s running mate, is a story that’s as much about what the Republican Party does not represent as it is a story about the GOP’s evolution.

Wednesday night at the RNC was wholly oriented around Trump’s vice president.

In Vance, Trump has chosed a self-proclaimed economic populist as his partner — a strategic pick aimed at shoring up support in key areas of the Rust Belt and other communities where manufacturing and energy are critical.

Vance, a one-term senator from Ohio, has been in the upper chamber of Congress for just a year and a half.

In that time, he staked out his position as a clear outlier from the conservative mainstream with actions including an appearance on a United Autoworkers picket line and support for a railworkers union’s bargaining efforts over paid sick leave.

Now, as Trump’s prospective vice president, Vance could be about to face a rude awakening, as this clip from last night neatly illustrates.

John Bowden has more.

JD Vance says his party is pro-worker. Tonight, the RNC will feature union busters

From ‘Kai Trump 2040’ to kingmaker Don Jr: The Trump family at the RNC

Friday 19 July 2024 13:30 , Joe Sommerlad

It was around the time when one of the delegates to the RNC yelled “Kai Trump 2040!” when the scope of the Trump takeover of the Republican Party was suddenly laid very bare.

Major party conventions often feature family members and friends close to the person at the top of the ticket. It’s nothing new.

But the Trumpification of the GOP, which was on full display this week, took that trend to the extreme — and made clear that the continued strength of the MAGA movement would not only persist through 2024 but well into the future.

John Bowden reports.

From ‘Kai Trump 2040’ to kingmaker Don Jr, the Trump family is everywhere at the RNC

Alina Habba’s tearful tribute to ‘my friend’ Trump

Friday 19 July 2024 13:00 , Joe Sommerlad

The really rather ineffective but nevertheless popular MAGA lawyer got emotional praising her most prominent client on stage last night, uttering the truly ghastly line, perhaps the most bowel-tremoring of the whole convention, when she declared: “The only crime President Trump has committed is loving America.”

Gustaf Kilander has this one.

Alina Habba’s tearful tribute to ‘my friend’ Donald Trump

Trump’s RNC address in full: Read the former president’s 93-minute address to Republican delegates

Friday 19 July 2024 12:30 , Joe Sommerlad

You can read the former’s president’s entire nomination acceptance speech for yourself below.

If you do so, imitating his voice as preposterously as possible is strongly recommended.

Trump’s RNC speech in full: Read the ex-president’s 93-minute address

Analysis: Trump's rambling 93-minute speech reveals the US is set to be dragged back to 2016

Friday 19 July 2024 12:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Trump’s campaign spent the better part of four days promising a changed man – a more thoughtful candidate, forever changed by a would-be assassin’s bullet.

But that image was shattered over 93 minutes on Thursday.

The nominee’s speech, which trailed off the prepared remarks on the teleprompter at multiple points, was in turn monotonous as he waffled on the call for “unity” and angry about the current state of American life, for which he is as responsible as anyone else, if not much more so.

Here’s John Bowden’s assessment from Milwaukee.

Ex-President’s RNC ‘unity’ speech is familiar list of grievances