MILWAUKEE (BP) – Former President Donald Trump officially accepted the Republican Party presidential nomination during his Thursday night (July 18) speech at the Republican National Convention (RNC).
The acceptance speech was Trump’s first public address since surviving an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania last Saturday (July 13).
“I stand before you this evening with a message of confidence, strength and hope,” Trump told the crowd on the last night of the convention.
“Tonight, with faith and devotion, I proudly accept your nomination for president of the United States.”
Trump then thanked those that supported him in the aftermath of his assassination attempt, which he went on to describe in great detail.
“As you already know the assassin’s bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life,” he said.
“I felt something hit me really, really hard on my right ear. I immediately knew it was very serious … Bullets were continuing to fly as very brave secret service agents rushed to the stage.
“There was blood pouring everywhere and yet, in a certain way I felt very safe because I had God on my side. I felt that.”
The gunman was killed by a law enforcement sniper moments after he shot at the former president. Trump noted the seemingly miraculous nature of his survival.
“The amazing thing is that prior to the shot, if I had not moved my head at that very last instant, the assassin’s bullet would have perfectly hit its mark and I would not be here tonight. … I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty God. And watching the reports over the last few days, many people say it was a providential moment. Probably was.”
Trump later asked for a moment of silence for Corey Comperatore, the retired fire chief who was killed after being struck by a bullet during the assassination attempt, and noted the two others wounded during the attack were doing much better.
The full acceptance speech lasted 93 minutes, which broke Trump’s previous record for longest speech at the Republican Convention, which he set with his 2016 address.
Among the topics Trump’s speech covered was welcoming his new vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance (R-Ohio).
Vance, 39, is notably the first millennial on a major party ticket. He gained notoriety even before being elected to the Senate through his popular book “Hillbilly Elegy,” which tells his family’s story.
Trump announced Vance as his VP pick via social media on Monday (July 15), which is the same day he received the necessary number of delegates to be nominated as the presidential candidate.
Vance accepted the nomination for VP in his address on Wednesday, July 17.
“My friends, tonight is a night of hope,” Vance said during his speech. “A celebration of what America once was, and with God’s grace, what it will soon be again.
He referenced Trump’s previous calls for the GOP to band together as it moves forward in this election.
“I want to respond to his call for unity myself,” Vance said. “We have a big tent in this party, on everything from national security to economic policy. But my message to you, my fellow Republicans, is we love this country and we are united to win. Now I think our disagreements actually make us stronger. That’s what I’ve learned in my time in the United States Senate.”
Some disagreements Vance referenced have arisen among conservatives in response to the Republican Party’s recently approved party platform.
The platform was unveiled last week after being drafted in private by the Republican platform committee. A report from World Magazine stated the committee opted to bypass its normally deliberate process in favor of language from the Trump campaign.
Many Southern Baptists were upset by language in the platform which signaled an apparent retreat on social issues of great importance to them, specifically abortion and biblical marriage.
The 16-page platform references abortion in just one paragraph, celebrating the overturning of Roe v. Wade, opposing late-term abortion and vowing to “protect and defend a vote of the people, from within the states, on the issue of life.”
The apparent retreat from pro-life issues drew criticism from Southern Baptists as well as former vice president Mike Pence, who called the platform “a profound disappointment to the millions of pro-life Republicans.”
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) had previously urged the Republican party not to retreat on its historic pro-life stance.
It is the first time since 1984 that the party’s platform did not include a refence to biblical marriage between one man and one woman.
Despite several references to God in the speeches by Trump and Vance, He drew just one mention in this year’s Republican party platform. God was mentioned 15 times in the 2016 party platform.
Conservative LGBTQ+ advocates also celebrated what they called the omission of “anti-LGBT language.”
The lack of language regarding LGBTQ+ topics in the platform is a reflection of a public policy shift across the nation regarding the issue.
Another sign of the GOP’s shift – “big-tent” party as Vance described it – is the speakers chosen for the convention.
The speaker lineup, heavily influenced by Trump, featured political commentator Tucker Carlson, wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan, UFC CEO Dana White, a prayer from a Sikh priest and Amber Rose, a hugely popular social media influencer known for her OnlyFans account.
Rose, who used to be a stripper, has publicly stated she views her current presence on OnlyFans as a digital strip club.
Hulk Hogan was followed at the podium by evangelist Franklin Graham, who pointed out that during Trump’s first presidency, he kept every promise he made to Graham.
Graham led in a prayer for the nation to conclude his remarks.
Brent Leatherwood, president of the ERLC, said the changes in the GOP platform could portend a new direction for the party.
“Conventions are meant to display the various coalitions that make up the party and signal the direction the party wants to take the country,” Leatherwood said. “There is little doubt the Republican convention did just that.”
He then noted even after a week filled with historic political events, Southern Baptists should continue to offer prayers for Trump.
“Textbooks will note this week as one of the more consequential in recent American political history,” Leatherwood said. “A horrific assassination attempt against Donald Trump that took the life of an innocent father in the crowd. The GOP’s withdrawal from its historic commitments to protect preborn lives and biblical marriage. Different primetime convention addresses featuring an adult entertainer, a labor union president and a bulldog. The selection of Sen. Vance, the first national nominee that is from the millennial generation.
“And, by the end of it, Americans witnessed the historic third nomination in a row of Donald Trump to be the Republican standard bearer for the White House. The first part of his acceptance speech revealed a man who has been affected by such a close brush with death, and he kept the audience’s attention by recounting that harrowing moment. We should continue praying for his recovery.”
The Democratic National Convention is scheduled for Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.
