'Confidence, strength, and hope': Trump calls for unity, vows American renewal in RNC speech

Former President Donald Trump on Thursday used his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention to issue a call for unity in wake of an assassination attempt against him over the weekend, which he described in detail.

"I stand before you this evening with a message of confidence, strength, and hope. Four months from now, we will have an incredible victory, and we will begin the four greatest years in the history of our country," he opened. "The discord and division in our society must be healed. As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a shared destiny. We rise together. Or we fall apart. I am running to be president for ALL of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America."

"So tonight, with faith and devotion, I proudly accept your nomination for President of the United States," he declared.

His appearance comes in the wake of an assassination attempt that saw the former commander-in-chief shot in the right ear. Before being escorted off the stage of his Pennsylvania rally, Trump pumped his fist to show the audience he was alright. Despite sustaining a gunshot wound, Trump nonetheless made it to the convention on time and pressed forward to ultimately deliver his speech.

Throughout the convention, Trump sported a sizeable bandage on his right ear.

"As you already know, the assassin’s bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life. So many people have asked me what happened, and therefore, I’ll tell you what happened, and you’ll never hear it from me a second time, because it’s too painful to tell," he declared.

Trump recounts the assassination attempt

The former president's subsequent remarks were not included in a full transcript of his speech:

It was a warm beautiful day in the early evening in Butler township in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania," he began. "Music was loudly playing and the campaign was doing really well. I went to the stage and the crowd was cheering wildly. Everybody was happy. I began speaking very strongly, powerfully and happily, because I was discussing the great job my administration did on immigration at the southern border. We were very proud of it."

"Behind me and to the right was a large screen that was just border crossings under my leadership. The numbers were absolutely amazing," he went on. "In order to see the chart, I started to like this turn to my right and was ready to begin a little bit further turn, which I'm very lucky I didn't do when I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me really, really hard on my right ear."

"I said to myself, Wow, what was that? It can only be a bullet. And moved my right hand to my ear, brought it down. My hand was covered absolutely blood all over the place," he went on. "I immediately knew it was very serious that we were under attack. And in one movement, proceeded to drop to the ground. Bullets were continuing to fly as very brave Secret Service agents rushed to the stage."

"I'm not supposed to be here tonight," Trump declared, to which the crowd responded with chants of "yes, you are!" 

"Thank you, but I'm not," Trump continued. "And I'll tell you. I stand before you, in this arena, only by the grace of Almighty God."

"The crowd was confused, because they thought I was dead, and there was great, great sorrow. I could see that on their faces as I looked out," he continued. "They didn't know I was looking out. They thought it was over, but I could see it. I wanted to do something to let them know I was okay. I raised my right arm, looked at the 1000s and 1000s of people that were breathlessly waiting and started shouting, 'fight, fight, fight.'"

Trump pays tribute to the victims

"For the rest of my life, I will be grateful for the love shown by that giant audience of patriots that stood bravely on that fateful evening in Pennsylvania," Trump went on. "Tragically, the shooter claimed the life of one of our fellow Americans, Corey comparator, unbelievable person, everybody tells me, unbelievable."

"And seriously wounded two other great warriors spoke to them today, David Dutch and James Copenhaver, two great people," he continued. "I also spoke to all three families of these tremendous people. Our love and prayers are with them, and always will be. We are never going to forget them. They came for a great rally. They were serious Trumpsters."

"I want to tell you they were serious Trumpsters, and still are, but Corey, unfortunately, we have to use the past tense. He was incredible," Trump declared. "He was a highly respected former fire chief, respected by everybody. Was accompanied by his wife, Helen, incredible woman I spoke to today, devastated and two precious daughters. He lost his life selflessly acting as a human shield to protect them from flying bullets. He went right over the top of them and was hit. What a fine man he was."

"I want to thank the fire department and the family for sending his helmet, his outfit, and it was just something, and they're going to do something very special when they get it, but we did something which cannot match what happened, not even close. But I am very proud to say that over the past few days, we've raised $6.3 million," Trump went on.

He further held a moment of silence for Corey Comperatore, who lost his life in the assassination attempt.

Acknowledgement of challenges

Trump went on to vow that "under our leadership, the United States will be respected again. No nation will question our power. No enemy will doubt our might. Our borders will be totally secure. Our economy will soar. We will return law and order to our streets, patriotism to our schools, and importantly, we will restore peace, stability, and harmony all throughout the world."

But he asserted that such developments would require a turnover in leadership, though he notably avoided mentioning President Joe Biden by name.

"But to achieve this future, we must first rescue our nation from failed leadership. This will be the most important election in the history of our country," he said. "Under the current administration, we are a nation in decline. We have an inflation crisis that is making life unaffordable, ravaging the incomes of working and low-income families, and crushing our people."

"We also have an illegal immigration crisis – a massive invasion at our southern border that has spread misery, crime, poverty, disease, and destruction to communities all across our land," he went on. "Then there is an international crisis the likes of which the world has seldom seen. War is now raging in Europe and the Middle East, a growing specter of conflict hangs over Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines, and all of Asia, and our planet is teetering on the edge of World War Three, and this will be a war like no other war, because of weaponry."

"It is time for a change. We simply cannot sustain four more years of this administration," he insisted.

Pledges for the future

"So tonight, whether you’ve supported me in the past or not, I hope you will support me in the future, because I will bring back the American Dream," he went on. "With great humility, I am asking you to be excited about the future of our country."

"First, we must get economic relief to our citizens. Starting on Day One, we will drive down prices and Make America affordable again!" he vowed.

"Republicans have a plan to bring down prices, and bring them down very very rapidly. By slashing energy costs, we will in turn reduce the cost of transportation, manufacturing, and all household goods," Trump went on. "We have more liquid gold under our feet than any other country by far."

"Next, we will end the ridiculous waste of taxpayer dollars that is fueling the inflation crisis," Trump added.  "And all of the trillions of dollars that are sitting there not yet spent, will be redirected for important projects like roads, bridges, dams, and we will not allow it to be spent on the meaningless 'Green New Scam' ideas."

The former president then highlighted his past negotiation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Act (USMCA).

"We have long been taken advantage of by other countries... We will not let countries come in, take our jobs, and plunder our nation," Trump vowed.

A years-long struggle

Trump’s speech marked more than his triumph over a bullet wound. Rather, it represents the culmination of his yearslong effort to maintain his hold on the Republican Party in the wake of his electoral defeat in 2020.

As he left office, Trump challenged the election results and some of his supporters ultimately participated in the Jan. 6 capitol riot. Between leaving the White House and Thursday evening, Trump saw the FBI raid his Mar-a-Lago estate seeking classified materials. In subsequent years, he faced four criminal indictments, including two from special counsel Jack Smith, one from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, and one from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

While Trump has thus far fended off most of the criminal cases and even secured a dismissal in Smith’s Mar-a-Lago case, he nonetheless was found guilty on 34 criminal counts in Bragg’s case. His sentencing, however, has been delayed until Sept. 18.

Despite all of the impediments, Trump’s success in claiming the GOP nomination for the third time in a row places him in historic territory, as relatively few former presidents have pursued a return to office. Thus far in American history, only President Grover Cleveland has successfully reclaimed the White House after losing reelection to a second consecutive term.

At his side in this race will be Ohio GOP Sen. JD Vance, whom he named as his running mate earlier this week. Vance, for his part, accepted the party’s nomination for vice president on Wednesday.

"President Trump represents America's last best hope to restore what if lost may never be found again, a country where a working class boy born far from the halls of power can stand on this stage as the next Vice President of The United States of America," he said in his speech.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X.