Donald Trump has received emphatic endorsements from former rivals at the Republican National Convention (RNC), a display of party unity days after he narrowly escaped being killed by a would-be assassin’s bullet.
On the second day of the convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis feted their former rival as they urged Republicans to come together to defeat US President Joe Biden in November.
Haley, who previously called Trump unelectable, unqualified and “unhinged”, said that Republicans should back Trump for the “sake of our nation”, taking aim at Biden’s handling of foreign policy and immigration, the key theme of the evening.
“You don’t have to agree with Trump 100 percent of the time to vote for him,” Haley told delegates on the second day of the convention.
“Take it from me. I haven’t always agreed with President Trump. But we agree more often than we disagree.”
Stressing the need for Republicans and Americans alike to come together, Haley said the US’s enemies benefit when the country is divided.
“No president can fix all of our problems alone. We have to do this together. America has an amazing ability to self-correct,” Haley said.
“In this moment, we have a chance to put aside our differences and focus on what unites us and strengthens our country. Let us join together as a party, let us come together as a people, as one country strong and proud. Let us show our children and the world that even on our worst day, we are blessed to live in America.”
DeSantis, who finished a distant third to Trump in the primaries, struck a more combative tone, latching onto concerns about Biden’s mental acuity and calling on Republicans to send him “back to the basement”.
“As a citizen, as husband and as a father, I am alarmed that the current president of the United States lacks the capability to discharge the duties of his office. Our enemies do not confine their designs to between 10am and 4pm,” DeSantis said.
“We need a commander in chief who can lead 24 hours a day and seven days a week. America cannot afford four more years of a ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ presidency,” DeSantis added, referring to the 1989 comedy film about two employees who spend a weekend passing off their dead boss as alive.
DeSantis said Trump deserved Republicans’ support after being demonised, sued, prosecuted and nearly killed.
“We cannot let him down. And we cannot let America down,” he said.
In keeping with his reputation as a cultural conservative warrior, DeSantis blasted the Democrats on hot-button issues ranging from undocumented migration across the southern border, to COVID-19 vaccine mandates and “gender ideology”.
“They can’t even define what a woman is. Now Donald Trump stands in their way, and he stands up for America,” he said.
Our enemies do not confine their designs to between 10AM and 4PM. We need a commander-in-chief who can lead 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
America cannot afford four more years of a Weekend at Bernie’s presidency.
Let’s send Joe Biden back to his basement, and let’s send… pic.twitter.com/Px7h0YE5Pv
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) July 17, 2024
US Senator Ted Cruz, who ran unsuccessfully against Trump in 2016, also hailed Trump’s candidacy, telling the crowd: “God bless Donald J Trump!”
As he did on the first day of the convention, Trump again received a hero’s welcome as he entered the Fiserv Forum, receiving a standing ovation from a jubilant party faithful.
Trump did not address the convention but is scheduled to deliver his keynote speech on Thursday.
Trump has indicated unity will be a key theme of his address, saying that the attempt on his life inspired him to rewrite the speech he had originally planned.
Donald Trump Jr, Donald Trump’s eldest son, told Axios on Tuesday that his father intends to tone down his rhetoric, saying there are “events that change you for a couple of minutes and there are events that change you permanently”.
While it is not yet clear how Trump’s close brush with death will affect the presidential race, some political analysts have suggested that it increases his chances of victory, especially as it happened in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state that is considered crucial to Biden’s re-election chances.
Trump has for months been ahead of Biden in most opinion polls, both nationwide and in swing states such as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan – all three of which flipped from Trump to Biden in 2020.
An average of polls on the FiveThirtyEight website shows Trump ahead by 2.2 percent nationally.