Donald Trump will hear praise from his former rivals for the presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention – a sign of unity that contrasts with the divisions plaguing US President Joe Biden’s Democrats.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy will deliver speeches on the second night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. All of them were clearly defeated by Trump in the state-by-state battle for the Republican presidential nomination earlier this year.
“Tonight, the focus is a little bit on how united the Republican Party is and how they stand behind the president,” said Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser to Trump’s campaign.
Trump’s enthusiastic reception at the Republican National Convention on Monday made it clear that he enjoys the enthusiastic support of his party.
The crowd chanted “Fight! Fight! Fight,” echoing his defiant response after he was grazed by a bullet during an assassination attempt on Saturday.
A bandage on Trump’s ear served as a visual reminder of the incident.
Trump, 78, waved from a box where he sat next to his newly chosen vice presidential candidate, 39-year-old U.S. Senator JD Vance.
Vance is considered one of Trump’s most vocal supporters in Congress.
According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday, 29 percent of U.S. voters, including 52 percent of Republicans, have a positive opinion of Vance.
By comparison, 42 percent of registered voters and 81 percent of Democrats had a positive opinion of Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris.
According to the poll of 992 registered voters conducted on Monday and Tuesday, Trump was ahead of Biden by 43 percent, within the margin of error.
On the opening evening of the party convention, the chairman of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union also gave a speech – an unusual decision for a party that traditionally favors businesspeople.
While Teamsters Chairman Sean O’Brien has not endorsed Trump, he could also oppose Biden. It would be the first time since 1996 that the union has not endorsed the Democratic candidate.
The attack raised fears that the political landscape could be even more divided ahead of the November 5 elections.
After the gunman was killed by U.S. intelligence officials, authorities were still trying to determine a motive for the shooting.
Biden, who has portrayed Trump as a threat to U.S. democracy, condemned the shooting and urged people to settle their differences at the ballot box.
In an NBC interview on Monday, he said he made a mistake when he said last week that Trump needed to be hit politically, but added that Trump frequently used violent rhetoric during the campaign.
Biden has ordered an independent investigation to determine how the shooter was able to get so close to killing Trump despite the heavy Secret Service security presence.
The four-day convention will culminate with Trump’s prime-time address on Thursday, when he will formally accept the party’s nomination to rerun the 2020 race against Biden.
The assassination and the subsequent convention have pushed Biden into the background after weeks of speculation about whether he might drop out of the race after his disastrous performance at last month’s debate raised new questions about his age and mental health.
with AP