Delegates celebrated happily Thursday night as they waited during the Republican National Convention to hear Donald Trump accept his party’s nomination for the third time—only five days after he was nearly killed by an assassin’s bullet.
Before Trump’s widely anticipated speech to close out the big event, though, the crowd inside Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee heard from speakers as varied as Detroit pastor Lorenzo Sewell, Trump lawyer Alina Habba, and popular conservative commentator Tucker Carlson.
The night’s scheduled speakers slamming the record of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris included two Trump Cabinet members: former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Linda McMahon, who headed the Small Business Administration.
For some, the most unexpected speakers included Hulk Hogan, pro wrestling’s former heavyweight champion of the world, and Dana White, head of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, who introduced Trump.
Plus an appearance in the presidential box by former first lady Melania Trump.
Veteran rock and rap star Kid Rock, who made his conservative views known years ago, helped close the GOP convention’s fourth and final night with another hall-shaking performance.
Here are seven major highlights of the official program, which concluded with Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, celebrating onstage with their wives and families.
Trump Pays Tribute to Slain Firefighter
During his event-capping speech accepting the Republican presidential nomination, Trump talked a bit about the assassination attempt Saturday evening.
“I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” Trump said.
The crowd responded by chanting, “Yes, you are.”
“I stand in this arena only by the grace of God,” he said.
Trump paid tribute to Pennsylvania firefighter Corey Comperatore, 50, who was shot and killed at the rally. He displayed the former fire chief’s uniform and helmet, which he kissed.
“Tragically, the shooter claimed the life of one of our fellow Americans, Corey Comperatore—an unbelievable person, everyone tells me—and seriously wounded two other great warriors,” Trump said.
The crowd chanted, “Corey, Corey.”
Trump said he had spoken to Comperatore’s widow earlier in the day and announced a $1 million contribution to the family from Florida lawyer Dan Newlin.
“I ask that we observe a moment of silence in honor of our friend, Corey,” the 45th president said.
Carlson: Trump Is Saving American Democracy
Democrats and many in the media repeatedly have claimed that Trump is an existential threat to democracy, political commentator Tucker Carlson told the conventional hall.
But, Carlson noted, politicians in Washington have refused to respond to the will of the people for generations.
“Democracy, in case you’re a little sick of being beaten in the face with ‘democracy’ on television, actual democracy is the proposition that the citizens of the country own that country,” Carlson said, referring to Democrats’ Trump-is-a-threat-to-democracy narrative.
“They are not renters, not slaves, not serfs,” he said of Americans. “They are the owners.”
Carlson talked about the moment after Trump was shot, when he stood back up and put a hand in the air to reassure and inspire his watching supporters.
“The effect that it had on Donald Trump—he was no longer a political party’s nominee or a former president or a future president. This was the leader of a nation,” Carlson said.
Eric Trump Slams Biden for Fentanyl, Border Crisis
Eric Trump, Trump’s middle son and the man who now heads his business empire, told Americans that the Biden administration isn’t responsive to Americans’ plight, but that it doesn’t have to be this way.
“Energy prices are soaring. Interest rates are crippling. Everything is unaffordable,” Eric Trump said. “The U.S. dollar has been diminished. Inflation has made it impossible for Americans to live, to save for their future.”
He accused the Biden administration of inaction to secure the southern border, among other examples.
“Fentanyl is killing our youth and destroying families, while the current administration stands idly by, hoping their inaction will import illegal votes,” the younger Trump said. “Crime terrorizes our cities and our suburbs as far-left policies handcuff police. Male athletes, guys my height, 6-foot 5 inches, are swimming in women’s sports, destroying the dreams of young girls who have trained every minute of their lives.”
He said that can change if his father is elected president again.
“He stood tall, fueled not by personal ambition but by a profound love for this country and a love for all of you—the American people,” the former president’s son said. “That man is the 45th president and soon to be 47th president of the United States.”
Franklin Graham: God Spared Trump’s Life
The Rev. Franklin Graham, son of the famous evangelist Billy Graham, told the convention crowd that Trump had a near-death experience Saturday evening.
“God spared his life,” Graham said. “When we go through these experiences, it changes us. It can cause us to examine our lives and to reevaluate our priorities, as it should.”
“When President Trump rose from that platform,” Graham said, “he rose with his fist raised in strength, showing Americans his unshakeable resolve to fight for them and this nation.”
“I cannot explain why God would take one life and allow another to be taken,” the preacher said. “One thing I do know is that God loves us, and he wants us to be in heaven with him one day.”
Hulk Hogan Boosts ‘Trumpamaniacs’
Pro wrestling legend Hulk Hogan told the convention hall that he recalled Donald Trump being in the front row for one of his world championship victories.
In typically enthusiastic fashion, Hogan went on to call Trump his hero.
“When they took a shot at my hero and they tried to kill the next president of the United States, enough was enough,” Hogan said, as he did a characteristic ripping of his shirt to reveal a red Trump-Vance T-shirt.
“And I said, let Trumpamania run wild. Let Trumpamania rule again. Let Trumpamania make America great again.”
Hogan said that as an entertainer, he tried to stay out of politics, but he said he no longer could stay silent.
“We had a strong economy, a secure border, and peace abroad, and we lost it in the blink of an eye,” he told the GOP delegates and an audience across the nation.
Hogan again used one of his trademark slogans to ask a question of criminals and drug dealers.
“Whatcha gonna do when Donald Trump and all the Trumpaniacs run wild on you, brother?” he said.
Pompeo Compares Foreign Policy Records of Trump, Biden
Mike Pompeo, also a former Kansas congressman, said it was his “greatest honor” to serve as secretary of state and director of the Central Intelligence Agency in the Trump administration.
“There were no new American wars. Our southern border, closed. It may seem like a long time ago, when we took office, there were people’s heads being cut off at the beaches. We destroyed [the terrorist group] ISIS and its caliphate,” Pompeo told the crowd.
He addressed two current wars under Biden, one stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the other from Hamas’ terrorist attacks inside Israel.
“For those four years, the evil of [Russian President] Vladimir Putin was held at bay,” Pompeo said. “When we walked out, January of 2021, the Iranian regime was afraid and the people of Israel were strong and secure and we treated them like the friend and ally that they need to be.”
He added that China never flew a spy balloon over America during Trump’s presidency, as occurred during the Biden administration.
“Had I been secretary of state and a China spy balloon flew across our country, I would have been the former secretary of state, and rightfully so,” Pompeo said to cheers.
Divine Hand on Trump, Detroit Pastor Preaches
Detroit pastor Lorenzo Sewell, an urban supporter of the former president, fired up the crowd as he recalled Trump’s visit to his church last month, which sparked controversy among some.
“Can you imagine Donald Trump coming to our city and calling a pastor like me, a pastor who was raised on the East Side of Detroit?” Sewell asked from the stage. “I was mentored by murderers. I was a student of the streets. But I had a radical experience with Jesus Christ that changed my life forever.”
Sewell continued:
President Trump came to a church that is in a Democratic stronghold. He came to a church to listen to average, everyday Americans like you and like me. He came to a church, not to speak to us, but to listen to us.
He came into a church and a lot of people were upset. A lot of people would ask me questions. Why would you allow Donald Trump to come to your church?
How many know that the Bible says we are all sinners and we all need the grace of God? How many know that the Bible says he who has not sinned, cast the first stone?
As delegates cheered, Sewell also suggested that Jesus Christ spared Trump’s life for a reason Saturday evening in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Ken McIntyre contributed to this report, which was updated throughout the night.
