Trump to address fully consolidated party at the RNC convention

The speech caps a week-long showcase of his fully transformed and consolidated Republican Party, culminating a stunning comeback for a former president who left the White House a twice-impeached pariah who tried to overturn his election defeat and was widely blamed for weighing down his party during the disappointing 2022 midterms.

His remarks will also test organizers’ efforts to de-emphasize themes such as defending his supporters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021; Trump’s role in reversing Roe vs. Wade; his criminal felony convictions in New York; and the repeated false claims of election fraud that have dominated Trump’s stump speeches but have remained scarce in Milwaukee this week.

The former president’s family members who have been absent this week — including his wife, Melania Trump, and daughter Ivanka Trump — are expected to attend.

Trump’s speech originally was written by aides including campaign policy adviser Vince Haley and former White House adviser Stephen Miller, and he was slated to make several practice runs before taking the stage. But Trump decided to overhaul much of the draft after Saturday’s assassination attempt, according to advisers who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

“It will be a speech unlike anyone has ever seen from President Trump,” Republican National Committee chairman Michael Whatley said before the address. “It will be a conversation directly to the American people about why he wants to fight with them every day.”

Aides previewed the speech by stressing that Trump would tell a more personal story in light of Saturday’s assassination attempt. Investigators have not identified a motive for the shooting or found any indication of a political connection.

“It will be one of the most historic speeches he’s ever given, in light of recent events,” Trump spokesman Brian Hughes said Thursday morning. “You’ll hear a very personal story.”

Trump has suggested he wants to strike a more unifying tone after the shooting. But on social media this week, he at times resumed the same combative posture that has marked his nine years in national politics, including juxtaposing an image of his raised fist after the shooting with photos of President Biden tripping on stairs.

Democrats were also quick to move past their détente in the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt. The Biden campaign resumed airing attack ads, running mobile billboards around Milwaukee and holding daily news conferences responding to messaging at the Republican National Convention.

“Nothing says uniting like leading ‘fight’ chants from the main stage,” Biden campaign spokesman Quentin Fulks said Thursday morning. “That sure doesn’t seem like a party that’s unifying the country to me.”

Trump told ABC News that the bandage he has been wearing on his injured ear would be ready to come off in time for his acceptance speech, but he entered the arena wearing it on Thursday evening. The bandage inspired some delegates in the arena to wear paper over their right ears in a show of solidarity.

Trump prepared for his speech on Wednesday afternoon, leaving his room to appear at a movie premiere with Maryland Republican National Committee member David Bossie. In his first public remarks since the shooting, Trump described it in vivid detail, according to an attendee.

Otherwise, Trump has spent the week staying in his hotel suite, meeting with some donors, former British prime minister Boris Johnson and supporters; and attending parts of each evening’s programming. His expression as he entered the arena on Monday showed visible sensitivity to the crowd’s ovation, in contrast to his typical trademark scowl or grin.

“I’m not supposed to be here,” he told the New York Post in reaction to the shooting.

A few hours before the speech on Thursday, Trump visited the Florida delegation, telling them his running mate Sen. J.D. Vance (Ohio) was a “superstar” and important to his future, according to people present, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment. He also said that during the debate, he was repeatedly surprised because he could not understand what Biden was saying, they said.

Advisers said Trump has been pleased with the week’s speeches, particularly praise from former rivals such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley. Trump decided to invite Haley last weekend after initially planning to exclude her.

The prime-time programming emphasized spotlighting “everyday Americans” with personal experiences to illustrate the nightly themes, coming at the expense of speaking slots for elected officials and party leaders. The speeches were consistent to the point of becoming repetitive, with no memorable performances that energized the audiences or elevated rising stars the way that Democrat Barack Obama did in 2004 or Republican Sarah Palin did in 2008.

That may have been as much by design as accident, keeping Trump as the singular focus of the speakers’ and the delegates’ adulation and building suspense for his grand finale.

The convention also served to showcase Trump’s transformation of the party, in policy and personality. His campaign rewrote the platform to shift from free trade to tariffs and from supporting a constitutional amendment banning abortion to letting states set their own rules, including total abortion bans. The nightly show has included a supercut of Trump dancing to “YMCA” and a hip-hop parody track titled “Trump Trump Baby.”

“The convention this far has been executed pretty flawlessly, from the message discipline to the visuals,” Trump senior adviser Chris LaCivita said at an event Thursday hosted by Politico.

Other speakers on Thursday night included Steve Witkoff, a real estate mogul who spoke touchingly about his years of friendship with Trump. Witkoff was introduced by his son, Zach, who was married at Trump’s club.

Franklin Graham, the influential conservative evangelical leader, will also give remarks before Trump takes the stage. The Trump campaign originally thought of having a range of other celebrities on Thursday night.

Trump’s wife, Melania, is scheduled to appear Thursday night, after early plans showed she would not be at the convention. She has been largely absent from the campaign trail since the launch in November 2022.

Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, who served in his administration but have not been involved in the current campaign, are also expected to attend Thursday.