To great jubilation and applause, Donald Trump stepped into the Republican Party convention in Milwaukee. The appearance was the first since he survived an assassination attempt on Saturday.
Surrounded by bodyguards and with his right ear, which was injured in the shooting, covered in a large white bandage, Trump slowly walked into the arena on Monday evening, local time, to the tunes of country singer Lee Greenwood's song "God bless the USA". The American ex-president made no statements but took a seat next to his vice presidential candidate J D Vance to listen to the speakers.
"USA, USA", the audience chanted.
On his social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote that he had intended to move forward his trip to Wisconsin by two days after the attack, but that he had decided that he "cannot let a shooter or political assassin force a schedule change".
Around 50,000 Republicans have gathered in Wisconsin for the four-day convention, four months before election day.
Trump tells the New York Post that he has prepared an "extremely tough speech" about President Joe Biden's "horrible government" for the convention.
