Trump accepts GOP nomination with lengthy RNC speech, his first since shooting

Former President Donald Trump accepted the GOP nomination for president for the third time in a row on Thursday, closing out the Republican National Convention with his first speech since he was shot in a failed assassination attempt just days earlier.

Speaking for more than an hour and a half in what was the longest convention address in modern history, Trump struck an uncharacteristically somber tone to recount the fatal shooting at his rally in Pennsylvania before he transitioned into the kind of meandering address that is his staple.

With a bandage covering the wound where a sniper's bullet tore through his ear, Trump told Republican delegates in Milwaukee and a primetime television audience about his experience during the shooting, which left one rally attendee dead and two others wounded.

"I am not supposed to be here tonight," he said. "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."

The rest of the speech featured an unfocused Trump riffing on the text in his prepared remarks, with an emphasis on the economy, inflation and the Biden administration's foreign policy. If elected, he vowed to implement large-scale deportations of undocumented immigrants, cut taxes and reassert American might abroad. He made several false or misleading claims during his remarks.

The speech stretched past midnight on the East Coast, and Trump concluded by tying the attempt on his life to his campaign for the White House and calling on his supporters to fight alongside him.

"Nothing will sway us. Nothing will slow us. And no one will ever stop us," Trump said. "No matter what dangers come our way, no matter what obstacles lie in our path, we will keep striving toward our shared and glorious destiny — and we will not fail."

Here's more from what Trump said in his 2024 RNC speech:

Trump's family joins him on stage for balloon drop before convention adjourns

At the end of his speech, Trump's family joined him on stage as 100,000 balloons were dropped from the ceiling of the Fiserv Forum. The Trumps mingled onstage for about 20 minutes.

Several minutes after they exited, the 2024 Republican National Convention officially adjourned.

Trump closes speech: "Nothing will sway us. Nothing will slow us. And no one will ever stop us"

The former president closed his speech by again mentioning Saturday's horrible scene.

"Just a few short days ago, my journey with you nearly ended, we know that," he said. "And yet here we are tonight, all gathered together, talking about the future, promise, and a total renewal of a thing we love very much, it's called America. We live in a world of miracles."

"None of us knows God's plan, or where life's adventure will take us," Trump added. "But if the events of last Saturday make anything clear, it is that every single moment we have on Earth is a gift from God. We have to make the most of every day for the people and for the country we love. The attacker in Pennsylvania wanted to stop our movement, but the truth is the movement has never been about me. It has always been about you."

Trump said greatness is an American birthright, "but as long as our energies are spent fighting each other, our destiny will remain out of reach."

The former president nodded to ancestors who crossed the Delaware, survived an icy winter at Valley Forge and overcame many more challenges.

"When our way of life was threatened, American patriots marched onto the battlefield, raced into enemy strongholds, and stared down death, and stared down those enemies to keep alive the flame of freedom," Trump said.

The crowd started a chant of, "Win, win, win," and Trump joined.

"Nothing will sway us. Nothing will slow us. And no one will ever stop us," Trump said. "No matter what dangers come our way, no matter what obstacles lie in our path, we will keep striving toward our shared and glorious destiny — and we will not fail. We will not fail."

Trump says Biden's handling of Afghanistan withdrawal "emboldened" Russia to invade Ukraine

Turning to foreign policy, Trump pledged to not only make the country safer, but "help bring stability to the world."

The former president veered from his prepared remarks to briefly praise Viktor Orbán, Hungary's authoritarian prime minister, as "tough." Orbán recently met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and he traveled to Mar-a-Lago last week to meet with Trump following the NATO summit in Washington, D.C.

Trump also said he got along with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

"It's nice to get along with someone that has a lot of nuclear weapons," he said.

The former president claimed that when Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris came into office in January 2021, they inherited a "world at peace, and turned it into a planet of war. We're in a planet of war."

"It began to unravel with the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, the worst humiliation in the history of our country," he said. "We have never had a humiliation like that."

Thirteen U.S. service members were killed in an attack at the airport in Kabul during the chaotic withdrawal in August 2021 and 45 others were wounded. Some of their family members addressed the convention Wednesday, when the theme was "Make America Strong Once Again."

"Emboldened by that disaster, Russia invaded Ukraine. They saw this group of people that was incompetent," Trump said.

Trump warns adversaries will pay "big price" for not returning hostages

Trump called for foreign governments and non-state actors to release Americans who are wrongfully detained or held hostage, warning that there will be a "big price" to pay if he's reelected.

"And the entire world, I tell you this, we want our hostages back — and they better be back before I assume office, or you will be paying a very big price," he said.

Trump recently vowed to secure the freedom of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained in Russia since March 2023 on accusations of espionage that he, his employer and the U.S. government vehemently deny.

Russia is also holding Paul Whelan, a former Marine who is serving a 16-year prison sentence after he was convicted on espionage charges. Whelan, his family and the U.S. say the charges are false. In 2022, Trump said he turned down a prisoner swap to secure Whelan's release.

Trump and his former administration officials have criticized prisoner swaps made by the Biden administration to secure the release of Americans from Russia and Iran.

China , Iran and Syria are among the countries holding Americans that the U.S. or advocacy groups consider to be wrongfully detained. A number of Israeli-Americans have been held hostage by Hamas since the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel. The Taliban is also holding an American hostage .

Trump jokes about graphic that likely saved his life

Speaking about immigration, Trump brought up a graphic on the screens behind him. It was the same graphic he turned his head to read on Saturday, leading the bullet to graze his right ear instead of likely hitting him in the skull.

"Last time I put up that chart, I never really got to look at it," Trump said, to laughter from the crowd. "But without that chart, I would not be here today. Never got to look at it."

The crowd erupted into cheers.

"I said, 'You gotta see this chart,' I was so proud of it and by the time I got to there, I never got to see it that day," he said.

Trump promises progress on the economy, immigration and foreign policy

Turning to his policy goals, Trump vowed to reverse what he said are the failures of the current administration regarding inflation, immigration policy and America's standing abroad.

"Just a few short years ago, under my presidency, we had the most secure border and best economy in the history of our country," Trump said.

Veering from topic to topic, he criticized the Biden administration for its record on inflation, insisting he'll help bring prices down. Trump said the borders will be "totally secure" and the economy will "soar." He also vowed to achieve peace and harmony on the international stage.

But in order for that to happen, Trump said the current leadership needs to be replaced. He said that carefully, without mentioning Mr. Biden's name.

"We also have an illegal immigration crisis and it's taking place right now as we sit here in this beautiful arena. It's a massive invasion at our southern border," Trump said. Illegal crossings at the southern border have plunged over the past five months .

The former president said wars are raging in Europe and the Middle East, and the planet is "teetering" on the verge of "World War III."

"It's time for a change. This administration can't come close to solving the problems," he said.

He also pledged to tackle inflation and bring down interest rates.

"I will end the devastating inflation crisis immediately, bring down interest rates and lower the cost of energy," Trump said.

Trump veers off-script after recalling assassination attempt

Since he wrapped up the section of his speech about the assassination attempt, Trump has frequently veered off-script, riffing on various topics and straying from his prepared remarks. In a speech that aides said would be about unifying the country, he called Nancy Pelosi "crazy," accused Democrats of stealing the 2020 election and attacked the news media.

At one point, he mentioned the sitting president, whose name does not appear in the written version of the address.

"If you add up the 10 worst presidents, they wouldn't have done the damage that Biden has done," Trump said. "Biden — I'm not going to use that name anymore."

Trump says criminal cases should be dropped "if Democrats want to unify our country"

At the start of the year, Trump was facing 91 felony counts across four different criminal cases, two brought by special counsel Jack Smith, the third pursued by Manhattan prosecutors, and fourth from the district attorney's office in Fulton County, Georgia. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the New York case, and on Monday, a federal judge in Florida dismissed one of Smith's cases stemming from Trump's alleged handling of sensitive government documents after leaving office in January 2021.

Proceedings in the other two cases, relating to the 2020 election, have been delayed while other matters are litigated.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that the prosecutions are politically motivated "witch hunts" designed to harm his candidacy, though there is no evidence Mr. Biden has been involved in any of them.

He urged Democrats in his speech to "drop these partisan witch hunts — which I have been going through for approximately eight years — and they should do that without delay, and allow an election to proceed that is worthy of our people."

"We're going to win it anyway," Trump said.

The former president also said political disagreement should not be demonized and dissent criminalized.

"In that spirit, the Democrat Party should immediately stop weaponizing the justice system and labeling their political opponent as an enemy of democracy, especially since that is not true," Trump said. "In fact, I am the one saving democracy for the people of our country."

Trump's message to JD Vance: "Enjoy the ride"

Turning to the box where his family and friends are sitting, Trump acknowledged Sen. JD Vance, his newly selected running mate. Hinting at the 39-year-old's future in the party, Trump had a message for him: "You're going to be doing this a long time. Enjoy the ride."

Trump remembers shooting victim Corey Comperatore, showcasing firefighting gear

Trump reserved part of his speech for remembering Corey Comperatore, the 50-year-old father, husband and firefighter who was killed by the shooter Saturday.

On stage, Trump displayed Comperatore's firefighter helmet and jacket. Comperatore died shielding his family from the bullets.

"Tragically, the shooter claimed the life of one of our fellow Americans, Corey Comperatore, unbelievable person, everybody tells me, unbelievable. And seriously wounded two other great warriors, spoke to them today — David Dutch and James Copenhaver," Trump said. "Two great people. I also spoke to all three families of these tremendous people — our love and prayers are with them, and always will be. We're never going to forget them. They came for a great rally. They were serious Trumpsters, I want to tell you.

"But Corey unfortunately, we have to use the past tense," Trump continued. "He was incredible. He was a highly respected former fire chief, respected by everybody, was accompanied by his wife Helen, incredible woman … and two precious daughters. He lost his life selflessly acting as a human shield to protect them from flying bullets. He went right over the top of them and was hit. What a fine man he was."

The former president walked over to Comperatore's firefighting helmet and jacket, kissing the helmet. Trump said Americans have raised more than $6 million for those three families.

"They're warriors," he said.

Trump and the whole convention center observed a moment of silence in Comperatore's honor.

Trump credits crowd for not rushing for the exits during shooting: "Many lives were saved"

Continuing to describe the events that took place Saturday, Trump said the "most incredible aspect" was that the crowd did not flee when the shots were fired, but instead stood to locate the gunman and began pointing at him.

"Nobody ran, and by not stampeding, many lives were saved. But that isn't the reason that they didn't move — the reason is that they knew I was in very serious trouble," he said. "They saw the blood, and thought actually, most did, that I was dead. They knew it was a shot to the head. They saw the blood."

Trump said his supporters did not want to leave him. Secret Service agents put themselves at risk, he continued, but the danger dissipated when a sniper shot and killed the gunman.

"I am not supposed to be here tonight," he said. "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 describes realizing rally was "under attack"

Trump said he believed he was shot in the ear and, after feeling it with his hand, saw it was covered with blood.

"I immediately knew it was very serious, that we were under attack, and in one movement, proceeded to drop to the ground," he said.

Secret Service agents rushed the stage and surrounded Trump to protect him, and the former president said he felt safe "because I had God on my side."

Trump accepts nomination, recalls shooting: "The assassin's bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life"

Trump opened the speech by accepting the GOP's nomination for president of the United States. "We're going to do it right," he said.

He then recounted. for the first time publicly the assassination attempt at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. One attendee, Corey Comperatore, was killed and two others, David Dutch and James Copenhaver , were injured. The former president was wounded when a bullet grazed his right ear.

"So many people have asked me what happened, 'tell us what happened please,' and therefore, I'll tell you exactly what happened, and you'll never hear it from me a second time, because it's actually too painful to tell," he said.

Trump thanked the American people for their support following the assassination attempt and said the bullet "came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life."

The former president recalled speaking "very strongly, powerfully and happily" at the rally about his efforts to address illegal immigration and began turning to his right to look at a chart displaying border crossings when he heard a "loud whizzing sound" and felt something hit his right ear.

"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. We would not be together," he said.

UFC's Dana White introduces Trump as a "fighter"

After a performance by Kid Rock of the song "American Bada**," Dana White, president and CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, took the stage. He called Trump "a man who truly cares about people" and accused the media of pushing a false narrative about the former president.

"I know President Trump. I know President Trump is a fighter," White said, calling Trump the "toughest, most resilient human being" he's met.

The UFC chief said Trump is running for president to "save our American dream."

"I know President Trump is literally putting his life on the line for something bigger than himself and he's willing to risk it all because he loves this country," he said.

Calling Trump a proven and fearless leader, White said the choice for president in November is clear.

"I know America needs a strong leader and the world needs a strong America," White said. "I know Donald J. Trump is the best choice for president of the United States."

He then introduced Trump, who took the stage as singer Lee Greenwood performed his song "God Bless the USA."

Melania Trump arrives at the convention

Melania Trump arrived at the convention shortly after 9 p.m. local time after skipping a majority of the four-day event.

In 2016, she delivered a convention speech that lifted parts of the remarks that former first lady Michelle Obama delivered at the Democratic National Convention in 2008. She delivered a speech from the White House Rose Garden in 2020 when the convention was virtual during the pandemic.