Republicans on Monday nominated Donald Trump to lead their presidential ticket for a third time and backed his pick of Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate.
A day after surviving an assassination attempt, Trump arrived in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention, for delegates to elect him as the primary presidential candidate for the November elections.
Republican Party chairman Michael Whatley, the former US President's handpicked selection, said, "We must unite as a party, and we must unite as a nation," adding that, "We must show the same strength and resilience as President Trump and lead this nation to a greater future."
Over 2,400 delegates gathered at RNC 2024, including leaders such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, South Dakota Governor Kristi Neon and many others.
The 2024 RNC nomination marks Trump's third time as the presidential nominee, wherein the second time was in 2020 and first in 2016.
'SEND HIM BACK TO WHERE HE BELONGS'
Announcing Trump's nomination as their presidential candidate, Republican leaders on Monday showed great support for the former President who survived an assassination attempt on Saturday.
One man died and Trump was left injured at the shooting during the latter's rally in Pennsylvania. Surviving the strike attempt, Trump shouted 'fight, fight, fight!' as the Secret Service ushered him off the stage, with his fist raised and face bloodied.
Several delegates also picked up on the chant. New Jersey state Senator Michael Testa announced all of his state's 12 delegates for Trump and said, "We should all be thankful right now that we are able to cast our votes for President Donald J Trump after what took place on Saturday."
Meanwhile, Wyoming delegate Sheryl Foland was among those to adopt the "fight" chant after witnessing Trump survive the Saturday shooting.'
"We knew then we were going to adopt that as our chant," Foland said, adding that, "Not just because we wanted him to fight, and that God was fighting for him. We thought, isn't it our job to accept that challenge and fight for our country?”
She said that it was bigger than Trump, "it's a mantra for our country".
US Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas on Monday's primetime session of RNC 2024 raised several issues including grocery and energy prices, saying that they were getting increasingly expensive for the Americans.
Quoting Ronald Reagen in the matter, Hunt called inflation "the cruelest tax on the poor".
He argued Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris didn't seem to understand the problem. "We can fix this disaster,” Hunt said, by electing Trump and “send him right back to where he belongs, the White House.”
Notably, Republican Party chairman Michael Whatley said that their calls for harmony did not extend to President Joe Biden and the Democrats.
Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson termed Democrat policies to be a "clear and present danger to America, to our institutions, our values and our people".
TRUMP ANNOUNCES JD VANCE AS VP PICK
Donald Trump picked Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate. The 39-year-old first-term Senator rose to national fame after his 2016 memoir 'Hillbilly Elegy'.
He is married to Usha Chilukuri Vance, an Indian American, and has three kids -- Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel.
Elected to Senate in 2022, Vance has emerged as one of the greatest supporters of Trump's 'Make America Great Again' agenda, especially in terms of trade, immigration and foreign policy.
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, in a post on X, said Vance's "small town roots and service to country make him a powerful voice for the America First Agenda.”
(with AP inputs)
