FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has arrived in Milwaukee, where later today the Republican National Convention will begin.
Trump is to be formally named as the Republican nominee for president run during the week.
The convention, of course, comes in the wake of Trump surviving an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania at the weekend.
So what can we expect from this week’s RNC?
The convention is being held over four nights at the 18,000 capacity Fizerv Forum in the Mid-Western city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
It’s estimated around 50,000 people have travelled to the city for the event.
Wisconsin is a swing state in the US. Trump narrowly lost to Biden in the 2020 elections. In 2016, Trump narrowly secured a win over Hilary Clinton.
Trump will unveil his vice-presidential pick during the week, and on Thursday, will conclude the convention with an acceptance speech.
In his first interview since the attempted assassination, which saw two people die, including the shooter, the former president told The Washington Examiner that his Thursday speech will be “a lot different than it would’ve been two days ago”.
“The speech I was going to give on Thursday was going to be a humdinger,” he told the paper.
“Had this not happened, this would’ve been one of the most incredible speeches. Honestly, it’s going to be a whole different speech now.
It is a chance to bring the country together. I was given that chance.
More than 2,400 delegates will gather to approve a party platform and formally nominate Trump to represent the party.
Trump reportedly called Milwaukee “a horrible city” last month during a meeting with House Republicans on Capitol Hill and US media outlets reported that he would be staying in Chicago for the convention and commuting to Milwaukee for his speech. He has since insisted that he will in fact be staying in Milwaukee and refuted claims he had called the city “horrible”.
Trump’s wife, Melania Trump, is set to make a rare appearance at the convention, though she is not scheduled to speak.
Two of his sons, Eric and Donald Jr, as well as his daughter-in-law Lara Trump are due to take to the podium. Lara Trump, who married Eric in 2014, is a former television presenter who was chosen by Trump to take up the role of co-chair of the RNC earlier this year.
The convention, which is televised, will hear from a number of high-profile Republicans – including two of the frontrunners for the role Trump’s of vice-president.
Two US senators, J.D. Vance of Ohio and Marco Rubio of Florida, have emerged as the apparent favourites for the role. North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who had initially run against Trump for the nomination, will also speak at the convention.
J.D. Vance was previously a corporate lawyer and then a venture capitalist in the tech industry before publishing his 2016 memoir ‘Hillbilly Elegy’. During the 2016 presidential elections, Vance told journalist Charlie Rose he “was never a Trump guy”, though he eventually aligned with Trump. The 39-year-old has been serving as the junior US senator from Ohio since 2023.
Marco Rubio is also a lawyer, who has been serving as the senior US senator from Florida since 2011. He is a 53-year-old father of four. In 2016, he ran against Trump in a primary, and the pair fell into an argument about the size of the later-president’s hands. They later worked together during Trump’s first term in office.
Trump’s running mate could be announced as early as today, and will address the convention on Wednesday.
The RNC has four themes, one for each day, that play on Trump’s notorious “Make America Great Again” catchphrase, US media outlets have reported.
‘Make America Wealthy Once Again’ is slated for today, while tomorrow is centered on ‘Make America Safe Once Again’. Wednesday will be dedicated to ‘Make America Strong Once Again’, and on the final day, in which Trump is set to make his acceptance speech, the theme ‘Make America Great Once Again’ has been assigned.
A number of politicians and public figures have emerged in support of Trump in the presidential race following the attack on the former president.
Billionaire hedge fund manager, Bill Ackman announced that he would be endorsing Trump in the presidential run in a post on X, while Elon Musk tweeted: “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery”, alongside a short video of Trump raising his fist in defiance as blood streaks across his face at the ill-fated rally.
I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery pic.twitter.com/ZdxkF63EqF
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 13, 2024
With reporting from AFP
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