Washington: An emotional Donald Trump, who survived the assassination attempt during a campaign rally last week, said at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee that “I’m not supposed to be here tonight.” He then paused and looked out at the crowd, which chanted, “yes you are”.
“Thank you. I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty God,” Trump told the audience. After formally accepting the GOP nomination for president for a third time at the RNC, he said “I am running to be president for all America, not half of America because there is no victory in winning for half of America”.
It was Trump’s first public speech since the assassination attempt. The former President recounted the close call during the attempted bid to kill him. He 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’ and moved my right hand to my ear and brought it down. My hand was covered with blood,” recalled Trump.
The Republican presidential nominee then urged Democrats to drop the “partisan witch hunts” against him, reports CNN. He said a Florida judge earlier this week dismissed his classified documents case. The Democratic Party “should immediately stop weaponizing the justice system and labeling their political opponent as an enemy of democracy,” Trump said. He also asked to hold a moment of silence for Corey Comperatore, the man killed during the attempted assassination at the rally.
Joe Biden faces renewed pressure to drop out of the presidential race. (Photo courtesy: X@POTUS)
Meanwhile, Biden, who self-isolated himself at home in Delaware with Covid-19 infection, has reportedly become “more receptive” to step aside and let the Democratic party find a different nominee for the 2024 presidential election. The Democratic National Convention (DNC) will be held from August 19 and run through August 22.
The octogenarian reportedly remarked that Vice-President Kamala Harris "could be President of the United States,” while addressing the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) annual convention. "She’s not only a great vice-president, she could be President of the United States," Biden said of Harris, 59, indicating her as the best-positioned candidate to replace him if he wishes to retire.
Nancy Pelosi, the former House Speaker, has also privately told him that he cannot beat Trump in November's election, according to CNN. However, Biden told the crowd that he had already made plans for the first 100 days of his second term. Should he quit, Kamala Harris, the Indian-American V-P, is likely to have the strongest claim on Biden’s ticket and campaign funds, which have been raised in the name of the Biden-Harris ticket.
