Trump’s emotional entrance to the Republican National Convention was a fitting culmination to a nearly three-week stretch during which he survived an attempt on his life — and scored crucial victories.
A somber Donald Trump — his right ear covered by a small white bandage — strode into the Republican National Convention on Monday evening, lightly pumping his right fist and gently waving the same hand.
The crowd was primed for the former president. They cheered as the announcer introduced Lee Greenwood, who sings Trump’s walk-on music, “God Bless the USA,” and some stood on chairs as they craned to capture video of Trump as he entered Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum.
But Trump himself was uncharacteristically subdued and visibly emotional, acknowledging the crowd with waves and fist pumps and occasional thumbs up as he repeatedly mouthed “Thank you” and slowly climbed the stairs to the suite where his family and several friends stood waiting.
There, he first shook hands with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), before clasping hands with his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and pointing at another son, Eric. He turned to his left to greet Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), his newly minted running mate, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
Then, Trump sat, and seemed to take in the moment, glancing about the cavernous hall.
Trump appeared before the convention crowd almost exactly 48 hours after a gunman attempted to assassinate him Saturday night at his rally in Pennsylvania, a tragedy that killed one attendee, injured two others, and left Trump safe but injured.
Still, Trump’s emotional and highly anticipated entrance was a fitting culmination to a two-and-a-half-week stretch — starting with the first presidential debate June 27 — during which the former president scored multiple crucial victories.
At their first debate stage faceoff, President Biden delivered a halting and politically devastating performance — shuffling onto the stage, whispering and trailing off, losing his train of thought and generally prompting a Democratic Party existential crisis over whether the occupant of the Oval Office should remain their nominee.
Four days later, the Supreme Court ruled that presidents have “absolute” immunity for clearly official acts, a decision along ideological lines that sent Trump’s indictment for allegedly trying to subvert the 2020 election back to a lower court, postponing any decision until after November’s election.
And on Monday, only hours before the Republican National Convention officially opened in Milwaukee, U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon dismissed the classified documents case against Trump, which legal experts and many Democratic and Republican strategists had viewed as the strongest and most clear cut of the indictments Trump is facing.
