RNC Day 2 features calls for GOP unity from Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and Trump allies

The second day of the Republican National Convention featured displays of unity from former President Donald Trump’s onetime rivals for the party’s presidential nomination, with former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urging voters to send Trump to the White House once again.

Haley, Trump’s fiercest critic during the presidential primaries, endorsed Trump as he looked on from the stands in Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. Trump again wore a bandage on his right ear, which was pierced by a sniper’s bullet in a failed assassination attempt just days before.

Haley offered her “strong endorsement” to Trump, and said the choice should be clear in November. “I’m here tonight because we have a country to save, and a unified Republican Party is essential for saving her,” Haley said.

Seeking to appeal to voters beyond the Republican base, she said the party must acknowledge that there are Americans who don’t always agree with the former president. “My message to them is simple: You don’t have to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him. Take it from me,” Haley said. 

DeSantis spoke immediately after Haley, and focused his remarks on criticizing President Biden and his administration. “As a citizen, as a husband and as a father, I am alarmed that the current president of the United States lacks the capability to discharge the duties of his office,” he said.

The evening concluded with speeches from close Trump allies, including Sen. Marco Rubio, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Lara Trump, his daughter-in-law and co-chair of the Republican National Committee. All three sought to give viewers a glimpse of the Trump they know, and pointed to the assassination attempt to argue that he would fight for Americans if he wins the White House.

“We will not be alone in this fight. For leading us in this fight will be a man who, although wounded and facing danger, he stood up and raised his fist and reminded us that our people and our country are always worth fighting for,” Rubio said.

Here’s what happened Tuesday at the 2024 RNC in Milwaukee: