US President Donald Trump said Saturday he would give a press conference from the White House press briefing room, shortly after a shooting incident at a gala dinner in Washington.

The press conference is set to take place shortly after 0200 GMT, Mr. Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding: “The First Lady, plus the Vice President, and all Cabinet members, are in perfect condition.”

– AFP

FILE PHOTO: Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump reacts in the spin room, on the day of his debate with Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., September 10, 2024. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Donald Trump on Monday (September 16, 2024) blamed his election rival Kamala Harris and U.S. President Joe Biden after he was targeted in a second apparent assassination attempt, saying their “rhetoric” about him endangering democracy is to blame.

Trump’s rapid politicization of Sunday’s incident, in which a man allegedly planned to fire on the Republican while he played golf in Florida, guaranteed that tensions ahead of the presidential election in seven weeks would continue to boil.

Also read | Man suspected in apparent assassination attempt on Trump charged with federal gun crimes

Both Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris have denounced the apparent assassination bid.

The suspect, identified by police as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, was arrested soon after being spotted while hiding with an assault-style rifle at the edge of Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach. US Secret Service agents opened fire, and he fled before surrendering without a struggle.

On Monday, Routh appeared in court where he was informed he was being charged with illegal firearms possession. He appeared calm and did not speak, other than to say “yes” to questions from the judge.

More charges are expected at a later date, with the FBI probing what it said “appears to be an attempted assassination.”

According to an FBI criminal complaint, Routh seems to have spent nearly 12 hours on the perimeter of the Trump golf course, based on cell phone records.

On July 13, the former President was grazed by a bullet in an attack at a Pennsylvania rally, which also saw a supporter in the crowd killed before the lone gunman was shot dead by return fire.

Trump — who was not hurt in Sunday’s event — told Fox News Digital that rhetoric from Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris “is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country.”

Trump, 78, referred to frequent comments that he poses a “threat to democracy.”

Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris have described the former President as a danger over his refusal to concede defeat to Biden in 2020 and his campaign to classify the mob of his supporters that stormed Congress in 2021 as political dissidents.

Trump — whose main election message against Ms. Harris is built on dark warnings about immigrant “invasion” and claims that the United States is a “failing nation” that only he can save — said his opponents “use highly inflammatory language.”

“I can use it too — far better than they can — but I don’t,” he added.

In a later post on his Truth Social network, Trump said “the bullets are flying, and it will only get worse,” before launching into an all-caps attack on immigrants.

– Secret Service scrutiny –

At the White House earlier Monday, Mr. Biden had told reporters “thank God the president is OK.”

But the Secret Service “needs more help,” he said, “and I think Congress should respond to their needs.”

The protective service came under severe criticism after the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, in which the shooter was able to climb onto a nearby roof overlooking the rally.

As a major party candidate and former president, Trump has a sizeable security detail but smaller than that of a sitting president. This meant the bodyguards could not cordon off the entire golf course, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said, explaining how the suspect was able to get to within a few hundred yards of Trump before being intercepted.

The would-be attacker has a lengthy criminal record, according to US media, and was obsessed with the Ukrainian cause. He traveled to Ukraine, claiming he wanted to volunteer and was recruiting foreign fighters to help repel Russia’s invasion.

However, there is no evidence that he ever fought there or was able to join the Ukrainian military. His social media presence indicates a wide variety of political affiliations at home.

Condemning “any form of political violence,” United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric expressed relief Monday “that the former president is safe and that law enforcement acted quickly.”

– Fear of wider violence –

The intensity of threats is rising as the U.S. presidential race enters its final weeks, and polls continue to indicate a tight finish on November 5.

The latest twist follows days of tension in the Ohio town of Springfield as a result of conspiracy theories stoked by Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance about the local Haitian immigrant community.

Schools and other public institutions have been repeatedly shut down there since Thursday after receiving threats.

There are also broader worries that Trump will again refuse to concede if he loses to Harris, stoking a repeat of the violence on January 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed Congress to try and stop certification of Biden’s victory two months earlier.

Trump used Sunday’s incident to appeal for campaign funds, posting on social media Monday: “FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!!!!!” and “Donate Today!”

Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is ‘glad’ that former US President Donald Trump is safe after reported gunshots near his Florida golf course on Sunday (local time).

The shooting, notably, took place at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Follow LIVE updates on the Donald Trump shooting

After the news of the incident broke out, Ms. Harris, sharing a post on social media, said that there is no place for violence in America.

“I have been briefed on reports of gunshots fired near former President Trump and his property in Florida, and I am glad he is safe,” the US Vice President wrote on X.

“Violence has no place in America,” she added.

According to the White House, Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden have both been informed about the security issue involving the former president when he was golfing earlier on Sunday and are both “relieved to know” that Donald Trump is safe, reported CNN.

“The President and Vice President have been briefed about the security incident at the Trump International Golf Course, where former President Trump was golfing. They are relieved to know that he is safe. They will be kept regularly updated by their team,” according to a statement from the White House.

Meanwhile, a suspect, who, according to the officials, is connected to Sunday’s shooting incident at Trump’s Florida Golf Course, has been taken into custody, CNN reported, citing a Facebook post from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.

The sheriff’s office “has stopped a vehicle and taken a suspect into custody,” the post said.

According to the office, a portion of Interstate 95 close to State Route 714 in Martin County is closed.

“We will update this information as it becomes available,” the post read.

Trump is “safe following gunshots in his vicinity,” the Trump Campaign said in a statement on Sunday, according to CNN.

The former President was playing golf at West Palm Beach’s Trump International Golf Club. As per a reliable source, the course was immediately secured following gunshots in the vicinity.

Shots were fired from an AK-47-style rifle in former US President Donald Trump’s vicinity on the grounds of his golf course in Palm Beach Florida, where he was present. The Republican candidate is “safe”, his party campaign said.

Kamala Harris, US Vice President and Democratic Party’s Presidential candidate said she has been “briefed on reports of gunshots fired near former President Trump and his property in Florida. I am glad that he is safe.” Ms Harris said, “Violence has no place in America.”

I have been briefed on reports of gunshots fired near former President Trump and his property in Florida, and I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America.

— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) September 15, 2024

The US Secret Service, the organization responsible for protecting serving and former Presidents, accompanied Mr Trump – A protocol followed by the team. 

The motive behind the shooting is unclear, but still, it came almost two months after a failed assassination attempt against Mr Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a shooter, atop a roof, shot a 5.56mm bullet from an AR-15 style rifle, which grazed his ear and blood splattering on his face. 

The US Secret Service accepted that it had failed to protect the former president at an election rally in Pennsylvania on July 13.

The Secret Service takes full responsibility for the tragic events of July 13th. This was a mission failure. The sole responsibility of our agency is to make sure our protectees are never put in danger. We fell short of that in Butler. And I’m working to make sure that this failure does not happen again,” Acting Director of the US Secret Service, Ronald Rowe said.

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will be up against each other in the closely contested presidential elections scheduled for November this year. 

The incident in Florida comes days after the first Presidential debate between the rival candidates where Ms Harris “trumped” Donald Trump and a majority of debate watchers said Harris outperformed Trump, according to a CNN flash poll released shortly after the debate. YouGov showed 54% of those surveyed said Harris won while 31% said Trump was the victor.

Florida:

Donald Trump is safe following gunshots in his vicinity, the Republican presidential candidate’s team said today. “President Trump is safe following gunshots in his vicinity. No further details at this time,” campaign spokespersom Steven Cheung said a statement.

The shooting took place at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida. A “person of interest” has been detained along with a weapon, the New York Times reported, citing local law enforcement officials.

Trump had been golfing when the gunshots were heard, multiple media reports said. Trump had been accompanied at the time by his Secret Service protective detail when shots were fired.

It was unclear who the shooter or shooters were, or what the motive was. There was no immediate indication that Trump had been targeted.  Media outlet CNN, citing security agency own sources, reported that officials believed the shots at the golf club were indeed intended for Trump.

The former US president’s son Donald Trump Jr. said that authorities also found an AK-47 rifle in the bushes, extremely close to the spot from where Trump was leaving.

“Again folks! SHOTS FIRED at Trump Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida. An AK-47 was discovered in the bushes, per local law enforcement,” he said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Again folks!

SHOTS FIRED at Trump Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida.

An AK-47 was discovered in the bushes, per local law enforcement. The Trump campaign has released a statement confirming former President Trump is safe.

A suspect has reportedly been apprehended. pic.twitter.com/FwRfrO3v6y

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 15, 2024

The White House quickly issued a statement saying both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s Democratic rival in the November elections, had been briefed about the incident.

“They are relieved to know that he is safe,” the statement said.

The shooting comes just two months after the former president was wounded in the ear when a gunman opened fire during a Trump rally in Pennsylvania.

The US Secret Service, tasked with protecting presidents, former presidents and other dignitaries, faced criticism after the Pennsylvania incident.

Kimberly Cheatle, the head of the agency, resigned amid the ensuing scrutiny, and at least five Secret Service agents were placed on administrative leave.

Nearly two weeks after Donald Trump’s near assassination, the FBI confirmed on July 26 that it was indeed a bullet that struck the former President’s ear, moving to clear up conflicting accounts about what caused the former President’s injuries after a gunman opened fire at a Pennsylvania rally.

“What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle,” the agency said in a statement.

The one-sentence statement from the FBI marked the most definitive law enforcement account of Trump’s injuries and followed ambiguous comments earlier in the week from Director Christopher Wray that appeared to cast doubt on whether Trump had actually been hit by a bullet.

The comment drew fury from Trump and his allies and further stoked conspiracy theories that have flourished on both sides of the political aisle amid a dearth of information following the July 13 attack.

Up until now, federal law enforcement agents involved in the investigation, including the FBI and Secret Service, had refused to provide information about what caused Trump’s injuries. Trump’s campaign has also declined to release medical records from the hospital where he was first treated or to make the doctors there available for questions.

Updates have instead come either from Trump himself or from Trump’s former White House doctor, Ronny Jackson, a staunch ally who now represents Texas in Congress. Though Jackson has been treating Trump since the night of the attack, he has come under considerable scrutiny and is not Trump’s primary care physician.

The FBI’s apparent reluctance to immediately vouch for the former President’s version of events has also raised fresh tension between the Republican nominee and the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency, which he could soon exert control over once again. Trump and his supporters have for years accused federal law enforcement of being weaponized against him, something Wray has consistently denied.

Speaking at an event later Friday in West Palm Beach Florida, Trump drew boos from the crowd when he described the suggestion that he may have been struck by glass or shrapnel instead of a bullet.

“Did you see the FBI today apologized?” he asked. “It just never ends with these people. … We accept their apology.”

Trump appeared on July 26 for the first time without a bandage on his right ear. Photographs and video showed no sign of continued bleeding, and no distinct holes or gashes.

Questions about the extent and nature of Trump’s wound began immediately after the attack, as his campaign and law enforcement officials declined to answer questions about his condition or the treatment he received after Trump narrowly escaped death in an attempted assassination by a gunman with a high-powered rifle.

Those questions have persisted despite photographs showing the trace of a projectile speeding past Trump’s head as well as Trump’s teleprompter glass intact after the shooting, and the account Trump himself gave in a Truth Social post within hours of the shooting that he had been “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.”

“I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,” he wrote.

Days later, in a speech accepting the nomination at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Trump recounted the scene in detail, while wearing a large gauze bandage over his right ear.

“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,’” he said.

“If I had not moved my head at that very last instant,” Trump said, “the assassin’s bullet would have perfectly hit its mark, and I would not be here tonight.”

But the first medical account of Trump’s condition didn’t come until a full week after the shooting, when Jackson released his first letter last Saturday evening. In it, he said the bullet that struck Trump had “produced a 2 cm wide wound that extended down to the cartilaginous surface of the ear.” He also revealed Trump had received a CT scan at the hospital.

Federal law enforcement involved in the investigation, including the FBI and Secret Service, had declined to confirm that account. And Wray’s testimony offered apparently conflicting answers on the issue.

“There’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear,” Wray said, before he seemed to suggest it was indeed a bullet.

“I don’t know whether that bullet, in addition to causing the grazing, could have also landed somewhere else,” he said.

On July 25, the FBI sought to clarify matters with a statement affirming that the shooting was an “attempted assassination of former President Trump which resulted in his injury, as well as the death of a heroic father and the injuries of several other victims.” The FBI also said Thursday that its Shooting Reconstruction Team continues to examine bullet fragments and other evidence from the scene.

Jackson, who has been treating the former President since the night of the July 13 shooting, told The Associated Press on July 25 that any suggestion Trump’s ear was bloodied by anything other than a bullet was reckless.

“It was a bullet wound,” said Jackson. “You can’t make statements like that. It leads to all these conspiracy theories.”

In his letter on July 26, Jackson insisted “there is absolutely no evidence” Trump was struck by anything other than a bullet and said it was “wrong and inappropriate to suggest anything else.”

He wrote that at Butler Memorial Hospital, where the GOP nominee was rushed after the shooting, he was evaluated and treated for a “Gunshot Wound to the Right Ear.”

“Having served as an Emergency Medicine physician for over 20 years in the United States Navy, including as a combat physician on the battlefield in Iraq,” he wrote, “I have treated many gunshot wounds in my career. Based on my direct observations of the injury, my relevant clinical background, and my significant experience evaluating and treating patients with similar wounds, I completely concur with the initial assessment and treatment provided by the doctors at nurses at Butler Memorial Hospital on the day of the shooting.”

The FBI declined to comment on the Jackson letters.

Asked if the campaign would release those hospital records, or allow the doctors who treated him there to speak, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung blasted the media for asking.

“The media has no shame in engaging in disgusting conspiracy theories,” he said. “The facts are the facts, and to question an abhorrent assassination attempt that ultimately cost a life and injured two others is beyond the pale.”

In emails last week, he told the AP that “medical readouts” had already been provided.

“It’s sad some people still don’t believe a shooting happened,” Cheung said, “even after one person was killed and others were injured.”

Anyone who believes the conspiracies, he added, “is either mentally deficient or willfully peddling falsehoods for political reasons.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a close Trump ally, also urged Wray to correct his testimony in a letter on July 26, saying the fact Trump had been hit by a bullet “was made clear in briefings my office received and should not be a point of contention.”

“As head of the FBI, you should not be creating confusion about such matters, as it further undercuts the agency’s credibility with millions of Americans,” he wrote.

Trump also lashed out at Wray in a post on his Truth Social network, saying it was “No wonder the once storied FBI has lost the confidence of America!”

“No, it was, unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard. There was no glass, there was no shrapnel,” he wrote.

On Friday, he called Wray’s comments “so damaging to the Great People that work in the FBI.”

Jackson has encountered significant scrutiny over the years.

After administering a physical to Trump in 2018, he drew headlines for suggesting that “if he had a healthier diet over the last 20 years, he might live to be 200 years old.”

He was reportedly demoted by the Navy after the Department of Defense inspector general released a scathing report on his conduct as a top White House physician that found Jackson had made “sexual and denigrating” comments about a female subordinates and took prescription-strength sleeping medication that prompted worries from his colleagues about his ability to provide proper medical care.

Trump appointed Wray as FBI director in 2017 to replace the fired James Comey. But the then-President swiftly soured on his hire as the bureau continued its investigation into the Russian election interference.

Trump flirted openly with the idea of firing Wray as his term drew to a close, and he lashed out anew after the FBI executed a search warrant at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida to recover boxes of classified documents from his presidency.

Former US President Donald Trump is planning to stop holding campaign rallies outdoors in the wake of the 13 July assassination attempt, as per a report in Newsweek. The team of the Republican contender for 2024 has stated that campaigning will be held indoors for security reasons. Mr Trump might still make an appearance at smaller outdoor rallies, but they will take place in places like stadiums with strictly restricted admissions.

Notably, Mr Trump has hosted hundreds of outdoor rallies since he announced his presidential campaign. For his fans and supporters, these events have taken on the character of festivals, complete with parties and vendors selling campaign memorabilia and products.

The move, which was first reported by the Washington Post, coincides with the resignation of Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the Secret Service, on Tuesday. Ms Cheatle was subjected to a hostile grilling by both Democrats and Republicans before a congressional committee over apparent security lapses before a 20-year-old gunman’s attempt on Mr Trump’s life.

In a letter of resignation, Ms Cheatle stated she had decided to leave the agency “with a heavy heart,” citing the Butler rally as the reason it “fell short” of the agency’s mandate to “protect our nation’s leaders.”

According to the Washington Post report, Mr Trump’s team informed the Secret Service that the 2024 re-election campaign intended to host big events and would require more resources and security. However, it is believed that the agency rejected the requests due to a shortage of funding.

Meanwhile, the 45th US President was hit in the ear in an assassination bid by a gunman at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania today. Blood was visible on his cheeks and mouth. The shooter was identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. He has been killed. A spectator was also killed in the shooting and two others were “critically” injured, officials said.

The 78-year-old Republican presidential contender, whose team claimed he was “fine,” was attacked shortly as he began his speech. “I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,” Mr Trump said on his Truth Social account.

A drone view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, U.S. on July 14, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The gunman in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump is believed to have flown a drone around the Pennsylvania rally site ahead of time in an apparent attempt to scope out the site before the event, a law enforcement official said Saturday.

The drone has been recovered by the FBI, which is leading the investigation into last Saturday’s shooting at the rally by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.

Crooks fired multiple rounds from the roof of a building adjacent to the Butler Farm Show grounds, where Trump was speaking, before being fatally shot by a Secret Service counter sniper. The existence of the device and its use at some point before the shooting could help explain why Crooks knew to fire from the point.

The official who described the drone was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. Details of the drone were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Trump said this week that one bullet clipped his right ear. A memo released Saturday by the Trump campaign and authored by Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson, who served as the GOP nominee’s White House physician, said that Trump sustained a gunshot wound to the right ear from a high-powered rifle that came “less than a quarter of an inch from entering his head, and struck the top of his right ear.”

One of the bullets aimed toward Trump killed 50-year-old firefighter Corey Comperatore, a spectator who was in the bleachers. Two others were seriously wounded.

The FBI is continuing to investigate what may have motivated Crooks to carry out the attack. So far, officials have not found any ideological bent that could help explain his actions.

Investigators who searched his phone found photos of Trump, President Joe Biden and other senior government officials, and also found that he had looked up the dates for the Democratic National Conventional as well as Trump’s appearances. He also searched for information about major depressive order.

More details about the investigation are expected to be made public in the coming week when FBI Director Chris Wray appears before the House Judiciary Committee.

Washington:

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has agreed to testify before the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee on July 22 for a hearing related to the shooting of former President Donald Trump at a rally, the panel said on Wednesday.

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

Security at the Republican presidential candidate’s rally in Pennsylvania has been under scrutiny after the former president was shot on Saturday at the event. The FBI said it was probing the shooting as an assassination attempt.

The shooting has raised serious concerns about how the suspect was able to access a nearby rooftop with a direct line of sight to where Trump was speaking.

Trump has since said he was doing well and has appeared at the Republican National Convention this week but the shooting left his face streaked with blood after his right ear was hit. A rally attendee was killed in the shooting, two others were wounded and the suspect is dead.

KEY QUOTES

“Americans demand and deserve answers from Director Cheatle about the attempted assassination of President Trump and the Secret Service’s egregious failures,” the Republican-led House oversight panel said on Wednesday, adding Cheatle agreed to comply with a subpoena issued by the committee’s chair.

“The hearing will take place as scheduled on Monday, July 22,” the panel added.

CONTEXT

Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden, who will face Republican Trump in November’s election, said on Sunday he had ordered an independent review, and Republican lawmakers in Congress have also vowed swift investigations.

Cheatle said on Monday the Trump rally shooting was “unacceptable” and that she would not resign her post. Top Republicans in the U.S. Congress called on Wednesday for her to resign.

The Secret Service is responsible for protecting presidents and former presidents.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Two days after surviving an attempted assassination, former President Donald Trump appeared triumphantly at the Republican National Convention’s opening night with a bandage over his right ear, the latest compelling scene in a presidential campaign already defined by dramatic turns.

GOP delegates cheered wildly when Mr. Trump appeared onscreen backstage and then emerged in the arena, visibly emotional, as musician Lee Greenwood sang “God Bless the USA.” That was hours after the convention had formally nominated the former president to head the Republican ticket in November against President Joe Biden.

Also read | Trump assassination bid derails Biden’s counter-polarisation strategy

Trump did not address the hall — with his acceptance speech scheduled for Thursday — but smiled silently and occasionally waved as Greenwood sang. He eventually joined his newly announced running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, to listen to the night’s remaining speeches, often with a subdued expression and muted reactions uncharacteristic for the unabashed showman

The raucous welcome underscored the depth of the crowd’s affection for the man who won the 2016 nomination as an outsider, at odds with the party establishment, but now has vanquished all Republican rivals, silenced most GOP critics and commands loyalty up and down the party ranks.

“We must unite as a party, and we must unite as a nation,” said Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley, Trump’s handpicked party leader, as he opened Monday’s primetime national convention session. “We must show the same strength and resilience as President Trump and lead this nation to a greater future.”

But Whatley and other Republican leaders made clear that their calls for harmony did not extend to Biden and Democrats, who find themselves still riven by worries that the 81-year-old question is not up to the job of defeating Trump.

“Their policies are a clear and present danger to America, to our institutions, our values and our people,” said Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, welcoming the party to his battleground state, which Trump won in 2016 but lost to Biden four years ago.

Saturday’s shooting at a Pennsylvania rally, where Trump was injured and one man died, were clearly in mind, but the proceedings were celebratory — a stark contrast to the anger and anxiety that had marked the previous few days. Some delegates chanted “fight, fight, fight” — the same words that Trump was seen shouting to the crowd as the Secret Service ushered him off the stage, his fist raised and face bloodied.

“We should all be thankful right now that we are able to cast our votes for President Donald J. Trump after what took place on Saturday,” said New Jersey state Sen. Michael Testa as he announced all of his state’s 12 delegates for Trump.

When Trump cleared the necessary number of delegates, video screens in the arena read “OVER THE TOP” while the song “Celebration” played and delegates danced and waved Trump signs. Throughout the voting, delegates flanked by “Make America Great Again” signs applauded as state after state voted their support for a second Trump term.

Multiple speakers invoked religious imagery to discuss Trump and the assassination attempt.

“The devil came to Pennsylvania holding a rifle,” said Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. “But an American lion got back up on his feet!”

Wyoming delegate Sheryl Foland was among those who adopted the “fight” chant after seeing Trump survive Saturday in what she called “monumental photos and video.”

“We knew then we were going to adopt that as our chant,” added Foland, a child trauma mental health counselor. “Not just because we wanted him to fight, and that God was fighting for him. We thought, isn’t it our job to accept that challenge and fight for our country?”

“It’s bigger than Trump,” Foland said. “It’s a mantra for our country.”

Another well-timed development boosted the mood on the convention floor Monday: The federal judge presiding over Trump’s classified documents case dismissed the prosecution because of concerns over the appointment of the prosecutor who brought the case, handing the former president a major court victory.

Trump’s campaign chiefs designed the convention to feature a softer and more optimistic message, focusing on themes that would help a divisive leader expand his appeal among moderate voters and people of color.

On a night devoted to the economy, delegates and a national TV audience heard from speakers the Trump campaign pitched as “everyday Americans” — a single mother talking about inflation, a union member who identified himself as a lifelong Democrat now backing Trump, a small business owner, among others.

Featured speakers also included Black Republicans who have been at the forefront of the Trump campaign’s effort to win more votes from a core Democratic constituency.

U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas said rising grocery and energy prices were hurting Americans’ wallets and quoted Ronald Reagan in calling inflation “the cruelest tax on the poor.” Hunt argued Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris didn’t seem to understand the problem.

“We can fix this disaster,” Hunt said, by electing Trump and sending “him right back to where he belongs, the White House.”

Scott, perhaps the party’s most well-known Black lawmaker, declared: “America is not a racist country.”

Republicans hailed Vance’s selection as a key step toward a winning coalition in November.

Trump announced his choice of his running mate as delegates were voting on the former president’s nomination Monday. The young Ohio senator first rose to national attention with his best-selling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” which told of his Appalachian upbringing and was hailed as a window into the parts of working-class America that helped propel Trump.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who had been considered a potential vice presidential pick, said in a post on X that Vance’s “small town roots and service to country make him a powerful voice for the America First Agenda.”

Yet despite calls for harmony, two of the opening speakers at Monday’s evening session — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and North Carolina gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson — are known as some of the party’s most incendiary figures.

Robinson, speaking recently during a church service in North Carolina, discussed “evil” people who he said threatened American Christianity. “Some folks need killing,” he said then, though he steered clear of such rhetoric at the convention stage.

Trump’s nomination came on the same day that Biden sat for another national TV interview the president sought to demonstrate his capacity to serve another four years despite continued worries within his own party.

Biden told ABC News that he made a mistake recently when he told Democratic donors the party must stop questioning his fitness for office and instead put Trump in a “bullseye.” Republicans have circulated the comment aggressively since Saturday’s assassination attempt, with some openly blaming Biden for inciting the attack on Trump’s life.

The president’s admission was in line with his call Sunday from the Oval Office for all Americans to ratchet down political rhetoric. But Biden maintained Monday that drawing contrasts with Trump, who employs harsh and accusatory language, is a legitimate part of a presidential contest.

Inside the arena in Milwaukee, Republicans did not dial back their attacks on Biden, at one point playing a video that mocked the president’s physical stamina and mental acuity.

They alluded often to the “Biden-Harris administration” and took regular digs at Vice President Kamala Harris — a not-so-subtle allusion to the notion that Biden could step aside in favor of his second-in-command.