RNC 2024 Day 4 updates: Trump pitches unity, but revives old grievances

On the fourth and final day of the Republican National Convention, former President Donald Trump gave a highly anticipated speech, which he said beforehand would call for unity following his assassination attempt.

However in his first speech since the incident, Trump leaned into his usual talking points, slamming President Joe Biden, Democrats and other critics on a wide variety of issues from the economy, immigration and crime.

For over an hour, Trump went off script much to the crowd's delight. The former president told them he was grateful for their support after his brush with death but argued that the country needed to be fixed due to Biden's policies.

The night also included wild speeches from guests such as Hulk Hogan and Eric Trump, who echoed some of the former president's rhetoric bashing Biden and the Democrats.

Latest Developments

_{Jul 19, 1:34 AM}

Biden-Harris campaign slams Trump RNC speech over what he left out

The Biden-Harris campaign called out former President Donald Trump's headlining RNC speech on Thursday night, slamming it for what was left out.

"Tonight, Donald Trump rambled on for well over an hour and failed to mention Project 2025 even once. He failed to mention how he had inflicted pain and cruelty on the women of America by overturning Roe v Wade . He failed to mention his plan to take over the civil service and to pardon the January 6th insurrectionists," Jen O'Malley Dillon said in a statement. "He sought to find problems with America, not to provide solutions."

O'Malley Dillon went on to point to the Biden campaign platforms that champion those issues, including restoring rights and defending democracy.

"Biden is more determined than ever to defeat Donald Trump and his Project 2025 agenda in November," her statement concluded.

-ABC News' Fritz Farrow

_{Jul 19, 12:32 AM}

Trump's family joins him on stage

Trump shared an embrace with Melania as his family joined him on stage.

Red, white, blue and gold balloons are falling from the ceiling as opera singer Christopher Maccio performs.

_{Jul 19, 12:31 AM}

Trump wraps up speech

Trump has concluded his keynote speech, with his family joining him on stage.

"America's future will be bigger, better, bolder, brighter, happier, stronger, freer, greater and more united than ever before," he said. "And quite simply put we will very quickly make America great again."

_{Jul 19, 12:10 AM}

This was the longest acceptance speech in history

Trump's acceptance speech lasted 1 hour and 33 minutes. That makes it the longest presidential nomination acceptance speech in recorded history. The previous record was 1 hour 15 minutes , also set by Trump in 2016.

—538's Nathaniel Rakich

_{Jul 19, 12:12 AM}

'He's playing the greatest hits from 2016': Biden adviser

An adviser to President Joe Biden further criticized Trump's speech.

"He's playing the greatest hits from 2016," the adviser told ABC News. "Trump has not changed, he has not moderated, he has gotten worse, and he is making no appeal to moderates."

-ABC News' Mary Bruce

_{Jul 19, 12:05 AM}

Trump vows to end 'men playing in women's sports'

Trump brought up the topic of transgender rights in sports in his speech, repeating a transphobic rhetoric that other convention speakers, including Eric Trump, brought up during the week.

"We need a leader that will ... not have men playing in women's sports," he said to a roaring crowd. "Let's end it already."

_{Jul 19, 12:21 AM}

'Almost there' attendee says

While the stadium is still full, Trump's long speech -- with him going off teleprompter to ramble on various topics -- has some in the crowd weary and the applause is now more scattered.

"I think we're almost there," one attendee told the woman next to her.

_{Jul 19, 12:00 AM}

Fact-checking Trump’s claim U.S. left behind $85 billion in equipment in Afghanistan

Discussing U.S. engagement in Afghanistan, Trump said, “We also left behind $85 billion worth of military equipment.”

That’s wrong.

The United States spent $88.6 billion in Afghanistan providing security assistance over the course of two decades, and only a fraction of it was for hardware. The lion’s share of that is for salaries for members of the Afghan army and national police, reported.

As of June 30, 2021, there were 167 usable aircraft, including 23 A-29 attack planes and 33 UH-60 Black Hawk military helicopters in Afghanistan, according to a July 2021 report released by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.

But there has been no full accounting of how much aircraft or other military equipment was still there in mid-August, when the Taliban regained control. Defense expert John Pike, director of , told PolitiFact "very little" of the $88.6 billion would have been spent on equipment. He estimated that the military equipment remaining is worth less than $10 billion, though virtually all of it could be considered under the category of weapons.

—PolitiFact’s Aaron Sharockman

_{Jul 19, 12:17 AM}

Trump touches on Iron Dome plan

Trump said he wants to build a "great Iron Dome" as part of his defense plan.

Official GOP policy calls for an American-built national missile defense system similar to Israel's Iron Dome -- something the military hasn't asked for and experts say could have limited utility for the United States.

Here's what to know about the plan .

_{Jul 18, 11:51 PM}

Trump's unity message doesn't last long into speech

Trump has gone off script pushing false claims about the 2020 election and immigrants stealing jobs.

He used the racist phrase "China virus" which has been used to push anti-Asian hate, and called about "partisan witch hunts" and "Crazy Nancy" Pelosi.

There was a six-minute rant where the teleprompter froze and several other times where it scrolled trying to catch where he was going.

Despite saying himself he wouldn't say the name "Biden," he has used it several times.

-ABC News' Rachel Scott

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