Trump vows to ‘fight for unity’ in first speech since assassination attempt

The former US president has accepted the Republican nomination to run for the White House in November.

Former US President Donald Trump has laid out the case to “make America great once again” in a speech accepting his nomination at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee on Thursday.

Trump was making his first public address since narrowly escaping an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last weekend. The former president took the stage on the final day of the RNC to share his vision for the future of the US, in a speech he completely rewrote following the shooting.

“I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” Trump said, recalling the details of the assassination attempt, as the audience began chanting, “Yes you are!”

“I stand before you this evening with a message of confidence, strength and hope. Four months from now, we will have an incredible victory, and we will begin the four greatest years in the history of our country,” Trump told his supporters.

“We rise together, or we fall apart. 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.“

Trump had initially prepared “an extremely tough speech… all about the corrupt” administration of President Joe Biden, but “threw it away” after the assassination attempt.

The former president went more than 40 minutes before first referring to “the current administration” in his RNC speech, and did not mention his Democratic opponent by name. Trump concluded his lengthy address with a vow to “very quickly make America great again.”

“We will save this country. We will restore the Republic, and we will usher in the rich and wonderful tomorrows that our people so truly deserve,” he stated.

Trump’s running mate for the November election, Ohio Senator JD Vance, had addressed the RNC the night before, officially accepting the vice-presidential nomination. During his half-hour speech, the lawmaker and Marine Corps veteran criticized Biden for backing trade deals that “destroyed” American manufacturing jobs and supporting the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Vance promised that a second Trump administration would only send American troops to war if absolutely necessary.