Donald Trump’s rivals sing his praises at the Republican National Convention

MILWAUKEE — One by one, Donald Trump’s vanquished rivals took turns Tuesday on the stage of the Republican National Convention to sing his praises as the party promoted a sense of unity days after a gunman tried to assassinate the former president.

Vivek Ramaswamy drew roaring applause when he told voters to ignore Trump’s “mean tweets” and vote for a candidate who could reverse the nation’s decline. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas warned of an “invasion” of illegal migrants on President Joe Biden’s watch.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, once seen as Trump’s most formidable opponent, rehashed much of his stump speech, though with new lines invoking the GOP nominee’s clenched-fist admonition to “fight, fight, fight” after a bullet clipped his ear at his rally Saturday in rural Pennsylvania.

But the most notable speech was delivered by former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who days earlier said she wouldn’t attend the convention, much less speak, because she hadn’t been invited. That changed shortly after the assassination attempt.

Haley was the last major Republican in the race against Trump when she withdrew just before the Georgia primary . Throughout her campaign, which she ended after a humbling defeat in her home state of South Carolina just before the Georgia primary, she called Trump unfit for office.

On Tuesday, Haley painted Trump as a one-man deterrent to hostile nations in the White House, saying a “strong president doesn’t start wars — a strong president prevents wars.” And she addressed middle-of-the-road voters on the fence about Trump.

“My message to them is simple,” Haley said. “You don’t have to agree with Donald Trump 100% of the time to vote for him. Take it from me. I haven’t always agreed with President Trump. But we agree more often than we disagree.”

In keeping with the erstwhile adversary theme, another former Trump critic — his new running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance — took a triumphant march among cheering delegates at the Fiserv Forum to take his spot in a red-and-white VIP box.

Trump, too, returned to the convention for a second day, with a white bandage still affixed to his right ear from the attempt on his life at a Saturday rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. He took a seat next to Vance just before a video mocking Biden played on towering screens.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Gov. Brian Kemp was not in the convention hall, but he reaffirmed his pledge to put aside the fraught history between him and Trump and support the former president earlier in the day at the Georgia GOP’s delegation headquarters in rural Delavan.

But the unity theme had its limits. Former Vice President Mike Pence, who ran against his ex-political boss, wasn’t among the speakers Tuesday. Neither was Paul Ryan, a former House speaker and Wisconsin native who was Mitt Romney’s running mate in 2012.

A parade of Senate candidates also grabbed the spotlight Tuesday, focusing their remarks on Democratic immigration policies and GOP plans to initiate a mass deportation of people in the U.S. illegally and beef up security at the border with Mexico.

David McCormick, a Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate, used his time at the microphone to praise Trump’s “remarkable strength and resolve” after surviving the attempt on his life.

And Cruz, who is up for another term in November, brought up the death of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was killed while jogging on the University of Georgia’s campus.

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Not all the speakers came from a political background. Savannah Chrisley, a reality TV star, made unsubstantiated accusations that her parents were targeted by federal prosecutors in Atlanta because of their “conservative beliefs.”

Left unmentioned was that Todd and Julie Chrisley were indicted by a federal grand jury in 2019 when Trump was president. The two were found guilty in federal court in Atlanta in 2022 and sentenced to yearslong stays in prison.

It was Haley, however, who gave the most closely watched speech. She took the stage to a mix of cheers and a smattering of boos — and mild applause from Trump. As the delegates quieted, she reaffirmed her “strong endorsement” of his candidacy.

And she told the thousands of delegates — and the massive national TV audience — that the party can’t afford to rely solely on its conservative base.

“We must not only be a unified party, we must also expand our party. We are so much better when we are bigger,” she said.

“We are stronger when we welcome people into our party who have different backgrounds and experiences. And right now, we need to be strong to save America.”

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

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