Trump accepts Republican nomination as Biden teeters
MILWAUKEE
Donald Trump promised Thursday to bring an end to raging international crises and restore American prestige on the world stage and predicted an "incredible victory" in accepting the Republican presidential nomination from a party euphoric over his escape from assassination and buoyed by the apparent implosion of Joe Biden's reelection campaign.
"We will have an incredible victory, and we will begin the four greatest years in the history of our country," Trump, 78, said at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
It was his first speech since a 20-year-old man shot at him, causing a wound to one ear and killing a bystander during a rally last weekend.
In an emotional retelling of the shooting, where Trump said he had "God on my side," the ex-president asked for a moment of silence to honor the victim, firefighter Corey Comperatore. Before a hushed crowd, he kissed the slain firefighter's helmet on the stage.
Trump took the stage to chants of "USA" from a crowd which has spent the week talking of him in near-divine terms.
Warm-up acts included shirt-ripping 1980s wrestling icon Hulk Hogan and conspiracy theorist and far-right media guru Tucker Carlson, who described Trump's survival as a historic moment.
After the assassination attempt, Trump became "leader of a nation," Carlson said.
But while the speech had been touted as the launch of a less abrasive, more unity-seeking Trump, he soon reverted to his familiar painting of America as an apocalyptic ruin that needs saving.
Promising to complete a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border, he said an "invasion" of immigrants had brought "destruction" and "misery" to a "nation in decline."
He vowed to end Biden's massive spending on fighting climate change, calling it a "scam."
The former president sought to paint a dire picture of the world under his successor Biden, telling the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee that the planet is "teetering on the edge of World War III."
"We will restore peace, stability and harmony all throughout the world," Trump said, without giving any detail on how he might do that.
"Under our leadership the United States will be respected again. No nation will question our power, no enemy will doubt our might, our borders will be totally secure."
Trump placed the blame for conflicts around the world squarely on Biden — even those with roots stretching back far before the Democrat took office.
"There is an international crisis the likes of which the world has seldom been part of... war is now raging in Europe, in the Middle East, a growing specter of conflict hangs over Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines and all of Asia," he said.
He vowed to change all that if he is elected to a second term in the White House.
"I will end every single international crisis that the current administration has created, including the horrible war with Russia and Ukraine," Trump said. But "to achieve this future, we must first rescue our nation from failed and even incompetent leadership."
He also said he wanted Americans held abroad to be released — or else.
"The entire world, I tell you this: we want our hostages back and they better be back before I assume office or you will be paying a very big price," said Trump — again failing to give any specifics.
He pledged to build a version of Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system for the United States, ignoring the fact that the system is designed for short-range threats and would be ill-suited to defending against intercontinental missiles that are the main danger to the country.
And he suggested that Kim Jong Un — the reclusive North Korean dictator whom he met in person during his presidency, and whose country possesses a nuclear arsenal — longed to see him back in the White House.
"I get along with him, he'd like to see me back too. I think he misses me, if you want to know," Trump said.
Trump flips script
Despite a torrent of scandals, impeachment for his unprecedented attempt to overturn the 2020 election, and 34 felony convictions in May at a New York criminal trial, Trump is on the rise in polls ahead of November.
Now, with Republicans more in step behind him than ever, he is bullish about a shock return to power.
Attempting to flip the script on accusations that he intends to rule as an authoritarian leader, Trump insisted that he is "the one saving democracy" and referred to his criminal investigations as "witch hunts."
"We must not criminalize dissent," he said.
Trump's love-fest in Milwaukee contrasted with the crisis engulfing Biden, 81.
The Democratic president looked close late Thursday to being forced by his own party to withdraw and make way for Vice President Kamala Harris or another candidate, as fears spiral that his faltering physical health will lead to a loss in November.
Biden was reportedly coming closer to dropping out of the White House race Thursday as allies including Barack Obama were said to have expressed concerns.
The 81-year-old Democrat was holed up at his beach house with Covid as multiple U.S. media reports said he was considering the future of his reelection bid amid mounting opposition within his party.
The New York Times cited several people close to Biden as saying they believe he has begun to accept that he may lose in November to Republican rival Donald Trump and may have to drop out, with one quoted as saying: "Reality is setting in."
Former president Obama meanwhile had told allies that Biden should "seriously consider the viability of his candidacy," the Washington Post reported. His office did not comment.
The Axios news outlet separately quoted party figures as saying that Biden could drop out as soon as this weekend, while broadcaster NBC quoted a person close to Biden as saying: "We're close to the end."
Meanwhile Jon Tester of Montana became the second Democratic senator to publicly call for Biden to quit the race, saying: "While I appreciate his commitment to public service and our country, I believe President Biden should not seek reelection to another term."