Former U.S. President Donald Trump has selected Ohio U.S. Senator J.D. Vance as his vice-presidential running mate. This announcement was made as the Republican Party officially nominated Trump to run for the White House at the start of the party’s national convention in Milwaukee.
“As Vice President, J.D. will continue to fight for our Constitution, stand with our Troops, and will do everything he can to help me MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The four-day convention opened at Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum just two days after Trump narrowly survived an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. The event also followed a significant legal victory for Trump, as a federal judge dismissed one of his criminal prosecutions.
Trump is scheduled to formally accept the party’s nomination in a prime-time address on Thursday. He will challenge Democratic President Joe Biden in the November 5 election.
Vance, 39, who was a fierce critic of Trump in 2016, has become one of his staunchest supporters, endorsing Trump’s unfounded claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.
Currently, opinion polls indicate a tight rematch between Trump, 78, and Biden, 81. Trump has yet to commit to accepting the election results if he loses.
In the aftermath of the assassination attempt, Trump announced plans to revise his acceptance speech to emphasize national unity rather than focusing on his differences with Biden. “This is a chance to bring the whole country, even the whole world, together. The speech will be a lot different, a lot different than it would’ve been two days ago,” Trump told the Washington Examiner. The assassination attempt left Trump with a minor injury, as the bullet grazed his right ear.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s decision to dismiss federal charges against Trump for retaining classified documents post-presidency marks another legal win for him. Trump is due for sentencing in New York in September for attempting to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels before his 2016 election victory.
Trump faces other indictments on federal charges in Washington and state charges in Georgia, both linked to his efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat. These cases are experiencing delays and may be affected by a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling granting him immunity for many official acts as president.
“This dismissal of the Lawless Indictment in Florida should be just the first step, followed quickly by the dismissal of ALL the Witch Hunts,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to prosecutions of his supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Following Saturday’s assassination attempt, President Biden sought to lower political tensions. “There is no place in America for this kind of violence, for any violence ever. Period. No exceptions. We can’t allow this violence to be normalized,” Biden said in a televised address from the White House on Sunday.
The shooting has shifted the dynamics of the presidential campaign, previously focused on debates about Biden’s age and performance. Nearly two dozen Democratic members of Congress have urged Biden to withdraw from the reelection race.
This week, attention will be focused on Trump. Having solidified party control, Trump has the opportunity to deliver a unifying message or, as he has in past campaigns, depict the nation as besieged by a corrupt leftist elite.
Trump has often used violent rhetoric in campaign speeches, describing his opponents as “vermin” and “fascists,” and accusing Biden, without evidence, of conspiring to undermine the U.S. by encouraging illegal immigration. Biden has warned that a Trump victory would threaten U.S. democracy, with some Republicans arguing that such comments may have contributed to the conditions leading to the shooting.
Investigators have yet to determine the ideology behind 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks’ attempt on Trump’s life during a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania. Although Trump escaped serious injury, one of his supporters was killed. The FBI is currently analyzing Crooks’ electronic devices.
Biden has ordered an independent review of how Crooks, who was killed by agents, came close to assassinating Trump. Congressional investigators will also question the head of the U.S. Secret Service, responsible for protecting the former president.
Despite the incident, Republicans at the convention showed little inclination to reconsider their stance against firearms restrictions. “If someone runs someone over with a car, they don’t ban cars,” said Melanie Collette, a delegate from New Jersey. “If someone stabs somebody, they don’t ban knives.”
Source: Reuters
