Donald Trump’s ex-rivals set to deliver endorsements in show of unity at Republican Convention in Milwaukee

Donald Trump will hear tributes from his former rivals for the Republican presidential nomination at the party’s convention, in a display of unity that contrasts with the divisions plaguing US President Joe Biden’s Democrats.

The second night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee will feature speeches from Florida governor Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy - who were all roundly defeated by Trump earlier this year in the state-by-state battle for the Republican presidential nomination.

“Tonight there’s a little bit of a focus on how the Republican Party is unified and how they’re lining up behind the president,” Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser on Trump’s campaign, said.

Trump’s rapturous reception at the Republican National Convention on Monday made clear that he enjoys the enthusiastic support of his party.

The crowd chanted “Fight! Fight! Fight,” echoing his defiant response after he was grazed by a bullet in an attempted assassination on Saturday.

A bandage on Trump’s ear served as a visual reminder of the incident.

Trump, 78, waved from a box where he sat alongside his newly anointed running mate, US Senator JD Vance, 39.

Vance is known as one of Trump’s most vocal supporters in Congress.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday suggested that 29 per cent of US voters, including 52 per cent of Republicans, had a favourable opinion of Vance.

By way of comparison, 42 per cent of registered voters and 81 per cent of Democrats had a favourable view of Biden’s running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris.

The survey of 992 registered voters, conducted on Monday and Tuesday, had Trump leading Biden by 43 per cent to 41 per cent, within the margin of error.

The convention’s opening night also featured a speech from the head of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters labour union, an unusual decision for a party that has traditionally favoured business owners.

While Teamsters head Sean O’Brien did not endorse Trump, he also might not endorse Biden either, which would be the first time since 1996 that the union does not back the Democratic candidate.

The attack raised fears of a more deeply fractured political landscape ahead of the November 5 election.

Authorities were still trying to identify a motive for the shooting after the gunman was killed by the US Secret Service.

Biden, who has portrayed Trump as a threat to US democracy, condemned the shooting and urged people to rely on the ballot box to resolve their differences.

He said in an NBC interview on Monday that he made a mistake by saying Trump should be put in the “bullseye” politically last week but added that Trump has frequently employed violent rhetoric on the campaign trail.

Biden has ordered an independent review to determine how the gunman could have come so close to killing Trump despite the Secret Service’s heavy security presence.

The four-day convention will culminate with Trump’s prime-time address on Thursday when he formally accepts the party’s nomination to face Biden in a rematch of their 2020 race.

The assassination attempt, followed by the convention, has pushed Biden to the background after weeks of speculation about whether he might drop out of the race after a disastrous debate performance last month raised fresh questions about his age and mental acuity.

with AP