RECAP: Donald Trump speaks at Republican National Convention as calls mount for Joe Biden to pull out
To say there’s a lot going on in US politics right now would be a huge understatement.
Former President Donald Trump has spoken at the Republican National Conference in a speech that was exactly what Trump supporters would have been hoping to hear.
His speech, on night four of the RNC in Milwaukee, followed a shocking assassination attempt on Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
The shooting, which killed one audience member and resulted in the death of the perpetrator, Thomas Matthew Crooks, turned the election campaign on its head.
Joe Biden had been facing increasing pressure to step down as the Democratic candidate following a miserable performance in the first presidential debate.
Those calls have continued to intensify in recent days, with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi coming out this morning (Australian time) to say that she expects Biden can be persuaded to step down fairly soon.
Recap the highlights — and lowlights — from the RNC below.
Key Events
Wrapping up
We’re shutting down our live updates from the Trump speech today but our rolling coverage of the US election will continue right through to November.
Feel free to scroll through the posts below if you’d like to follow the big moments from the speech as they happened.
It’s been an eventful day for Donald Trump and the Republican presidential campaign.
He delivered a speech his supporters will love and his detractors may find concerning.
The ball is in the Democrats’ court now. Will they allow Biden to insist he runs against the former President?
Or will they rip the band-aid off and go for someone who has a better chance of actually competing (and staying awake)?
Keep checking back in with The Nightly for all the latest news and updates.
Thanks for joining us.
Twitter/X coming to the party as per usual
A selection of some of the better reactions (Disclaimer - the majority of these probably come from Democrats):
Watch Trump recount the shooting
If you want to watch the part of his speech, where he details what happened the day of his shooting, take a look below.
What a performance
That was quite the speech from Donald Trump.
Yes, there were the usual factual errors we’ve come to expect from his campaign.
His pledges, such as ending inflation and multiple wars overseas, seem a bit far-fetched to say the least.
But his decision to start with the story about his attempted assassination was genius.
It was information about what went down on Saturday that no one had heard before. It humanised him. It reinforced the perceptions of his strength.
And he called for unity. It’s something we’ve rarely seen from Trump.
Will he be able to unify the fractured United States? Unlikely. But at least he’s open to giving it a shot.
Melania joins Trump onstage
The former First Lady has joined the former President in showing appreciation to the crowd.
Trump’s wider family have also joined him onstage.
Trump: Nothing will stop us
“We will not fail,” he says.
“Together we will save this country, we will restore the republic and we will usher in the right and wonderful tomorrow that our people so truly deserve.
“(We will be) more united than ever before,” he says.
“And quite simply put we will very quickly make America great again.
The crowd chanted those last words along with their candidate as he finished his speech
Trump urges ‘cherishing’ of colonial settlers
“Building monuments to those people is a good thing, not a bad thing,” he says.
“They prevailed because they had faith in each other, faith in their country and above all faith in their God. Just like our ancestors, we must now come together, rise above past differences. Any disagreements must be put aside.
“Tonight I ask for your partnership, for your support and I am humbly asking for your vote. We’re going to make our country great again.
“I will never ever let you down, I promise that.
“We will press forward and together we will win, win, win.”
The crowd chants that word back to him in response.
Trump: No one can stop our movement
“The attacker in Pennsylvania wanted to stop our movement but.. it can’t be stopped.
“It has always been about the hard-working, patriotic citizens of America.
For too long our nation has settled for too little.”
He says American citizens should be lifting the expectations of their country and their leadership.
Trump wrapping up (actually now)
“Just a few days ago my journey with you nearly ended,” he says.
“Yet here we are tonight talking about renewal.”
Trump: We’re on the cusp of a new golden age
“We’re going to bring this into a golden age like never seen before,” he says.
“We have to produce massive amounts of energy (to do this).
“AI needs literally twice the electricity that’s available in our country.
“Instead we’re building places where we can recharge our electric cars.
“I’m all for electric but if someone wants to buy a gas powered car or a gasoline powered car they’re going to do it. And we’re going to make that change on day one.”
