Former US President Donald Trump is to deliver a speech on Thursday at the Republican National Convention, accepting the party’s nomination as its candidate for the November presidential election. It will be his first address at the event since he survived an attempt on his life.
Trump will take the stage on the final day of the convention. He has attended every day since it opened in the Midwestern state of Wisconsin, two days after Saturday’s assassination attempt.
Trump revealed after the shooting that the speech would be an opportunity to bring Americans together. A Trump campaign official disclosed that the former president had drastically rewritten it himself.
Trump is likely to use the address to project himself as a strong leader who never yields to violence. He is also expected to seek to unite people, including Republican moderates and swing voters who have distanced themselves from him.
Trump’s rivals for the Republican nomination threw their support behind him. They included Nikki Haley, a former ambassador to the United Nations.
Republican efforts to present a united front come at a time when President Joe Biden of the Democratic Party is under growing pressure to quit his reelection bid.