Donald Trump officially accepts GOP nomination for POTUS, recounts assassination attempt

Balloons poured out from the ceiling of the RNC venue Thursday night as former President Trump wrapped his first major speech since Saturday's assassination attempt.

Trump was joined onstage by his wife, former first lady Melania Trump and his family members who sat in the family box with him including Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and Kai Trump.

Trump's newly-tapped VP nominee, JD Vance, also joined the Trump family on stage a few minutes later. The duo will next appear together for their first joint rally in Grand Rapids, MI on Saturday. It will be Trump's first rally since the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, exactly one week later.

Former President Donald Trump said Thursday from the Republican National Convention that countries holding Americans hostage will pay a "very big price" if the hostages are not returned and he takes back the White House.

Trump's remarks came as he discussed wars that have broken out in recent years, drawing a sharp contrast between his four years in the White House and that of the Biden administration.

"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."

"With our victory in November, the years of war, weakness and chaos will be over," he added. "I don't have wars. I had no wars other than ISIS, which I defeated. But that was a war that was started. We had no wars. I could stop wars with a telephone call."

Several Americans were taken hostage amid Hamas' invasion of Israel in Oct. 2023.

Former President Donald Trump recognized Sam Brown, the Republican nominee for Senate in Nevada who served in the U.S. Army was wounded by an IED explosion.

Trump's remarks about Brown came Thursday during his speech at the Republican National Convention, where he forcefully condemned the Biden administration's rocky withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

"We have never had a humiliation like that," Trump said of the withdrawal. "Thirteen heroic U.S. service members were tragically and needlessly killed. Forty-five others were horrifically wounded, nobody ever talks about them. No arms, no legs, face explosions, horrifically horrifically wounded."

"And by the way, we have a man in this room who's running for the U.S. Senate from a great state, Nevada, named Sam Brown, who paid the ultimate price," he added.

Trump urged Nevada voters to vote for Brown, who he described as a "real hero," this fall.

"He paid the biggest price probably ever paid by anybody that is running for office, and I think he's going to do great. He's running against the person that is not good, not respected, a total lightweight. ... He's a real hero, a really great person. And he's running. I hope that everybody gets out and votes for Sam Brown."

Brown was deployed in 2008 to Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he was injured. He is running against incumbent Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., in the state's Nov. 5 general election.

As former President Trump's speech is still underway in Milwaukee, WI, veteran Democratic strategist and DNC member Maria Cardona told Fox News Digital: ”This is a god-awful speech."

"One of the worst speeches Trump has ever given," she said. "Rambling, incoherent, super low energy, weird bizarre asides, I’m actually really surprised it is this bad. And of course, the requisite lies lies lies and absolutely no new tone.”

Throughout Trump's speech, he recounted Saturday's harrowing assassination attempt survival and discussed key Republican platform issues: illegal immigration, inflation, and ending the Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Hamas wars.

Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Former President Donald Trump went back to the now infamous chart that he said "saved" his life when he turned to look at it the moment a would-be assassin opened fire on him at a Pennsylvania rally.

"Less than four years ago, I handed this administration the strongest border in American history, but you can see on the chart that saved my life... that was the chart that saved my life," Trump said at the Republican National Convention Thursday as the chart showing illegal immigrant crossing flashed onto the screen behind him.

The chart, which shows illegal crossings steadily declining during Trump's years in office and then skyrocketing over the last few years, was also shown at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last week moments before shots rang out. Trump turned to look at the chart just before bullets began to fly, a move that may have prevented the bullet from impacting more than just his ear.

"Oh there it is, that's pretty good, wow," Trump said after noticing the chart was now on the screen at the RNC. "Last time I put up that chart I never really got to look at it. Without this chart, I would not be here today."

Despite Former President Trump's planned speech not mentioning President Biden's name at all, Trump went off script Thursday night and mentioned the current president twice.

"If you took the ten worst presidents in the history of the United States, think of it, [if you] added them up, they will not have done the damage that Biden has done," Trump said on the last night of the RNC as he formally accepted the party's presidential nomination. 

"They will not have done the damage that Biden has done -- only going to use the term once -- Biden. I'm not going to use the name anymore," Trump said. "Just one time."

The former president also took a swipe at Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, calling her "crazy Nancy." Trump recalled her tenure as Speaker of the House in 2019, when his son was subpoenaed by the House Judiciary Committee.

"Don last night was incredible," Trump said of his son, Donald Trump Jr. "He went through so much trouble. They got subpoenaed more than any people, probably in the history of the United States. Every week they get another subpoena from the Democrats. Crazy Nancy Pelosi, the whole thing just boom, boom, boom. They've got to stop that because they're destroying our country."

Former President Donald Trump vowed to "drive down prices" on day one if he's elected in the 2024 presidential election, telling a roaring crowd at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee that "people can't live like this."

"We must get economic relief to our citizens. Starting on day one, we will drive down prices and make America affordable again. We have to make it affordable. It's not affordable," he said.

People can't live like this," he added.

Trump said the election on Nov. 5 "can't come fast enough."

Trump, reflecting on rising costs, also talked about how young Americans can't get financing to buy homes.

"Under this administration, our current administration, groceries are up 57%, gasoline is up 60 and 70%. Mortgage rates have quadrupled. And the fact is, it doesn't matter what they are because you can't get the money anyway. You can't buy houses. Young people can't get any financing to buy a house. The total household costs have increased on average of $28,000 per family under this administration. Republicans have a plan to bring down prices and bring them down very, very rapidly."

"By slashing energy costs, we will in turn reduce the cost of transportation, manufacturing and all household goods. So much starts with energy," he added.

America was introduced to another of former President Trump's grandchildren Thursday when his granddaughter, Carolina Trump, was spotted sitting on his lap during the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee.

The moment came as Trump's son, Eric Trump, was delivering his RNC address.

Carolina is the youngest daughter of Eric and Lara Trump, who serves as co-chair of the Republican National Committee.

Carolina's time in the spotlight comes just a day after another Trump granddaughter, 17-year-old Kai Trump, addressed the RNC in her first public speech.

Kai is the daughter of Donald Trump, Jr. and his ex-wife, Vanessa Trump.

Former President Trump gave an update on condition of the victims of the would-be assassin's bullets over the weekend, while saying he has raised more than $6 million for them in the last several days.

Firefighter, father and husband Corey Comperatore was killed during the rally Saturday. Trump held a moment of silence during his speech Thursday night.

"Tragically, the shooter claimed the life of one of our fellow Americans, Corey Comperatore, and seriously wounded two other great warriors, David Dutch and James Copenhaver," Trump said. "I spoke to all three families of these tremendous people—our love and prayers are with them, and always will be."

Trump had Comperatore's uniform on stage with him.

"I am very proud to say that over the past few days, we've raised $6.3 million for the families of David James and Corey," Trump said, revealing another check for $1 million.

"When speaking to the family, I told them, I said, well, I'm going to be sending you a lot of money, but it can't compensate," he said. "They all said the same thing. You're right, sir, we appreciate so much what you're doing, but nothing can take the place in the case of Corey and the other two, by the way, they were very, very seriously injured."

Trump said that Dutch and Copenhaver are now "doing very well."

"They're going to be okay."

Former President Donald Trump took a moment to praise his wife Melania during his Republican National Convention speech on Thursday.

"On this journey, I am deeply honored to be joined by my amazing wife, Melania," Trump told the crowd in Milwaukee during an emotional speech.

He then referred to her letter to America, in which she called for unity in the wake of the assassination attempt against her husband.

"I am thinking of you, now, my fellow Americans," she wrote. "Dawn is here again. Let us reunite. Now."

The former president praised the letter.

"And Melania, thank you very much. You also did something really beautiful. A letter to America calling for national unity. And it really took the Republican Party by surprise. I will tell you, it was beautiful,' he said.

"Some very serious people said that we should take that letter and put it as part of the Republican platform. That would be an honor, wouldn't it?"

Former President Trump praised Secret Service agents who protected him during Saturday's assassination attempt in his highly anticipated RNC speech Thursday night, amid growing calls for Secet Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign over what lawmakers call severe security failures that led to the attempted assassination of Trump over the weekend.

"Bullets were continuing to fly, as very brave Secret Service agents rushed to the stage, and they really did they rushed," Trump said Thursday night. "It was great people at great risk, I will tell you, and pounced on top of me so that I would be protected."

The furious criticism of the agency comes as Republicans and some Democrats are demanding answers from the Secret Service over the circumstances surrounding the attempt on Trump’s life in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday. The shooter has been identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, and the FBI is investigating his specific motive.

Cheatle has agreed to comply with a subpoena from House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer. She has called the shooting "unacceptable" and "something that shouldn’t happen again."

"The buck stops with me," she told ABC News. "I am the director of the Secret Service, and I need to make sure that we are performing a review and that we are giving resources to our personnel as necessary."She has also faced criticism for comments she made talking about a "sloped roof" that caused a safety issue.

Fox News Digital's Julia Johnson contributed to this report.

Former President Donald Trump, describing his attempted assassination attempt, tells the RNC that he isn't supposed to have been at the convention -- a statement with which the crowd disagreed.

Trump was describing the moment a gunman attempted to kill him last week in Butler, Pennsylvania.

"I'm not supposed to be here tonight," an emotional Trump told the crowd in Milwaukee.

"Yes you are," the crowd chanted in response. "Yes you are."

Former President Trump delivered his highly anticipated speech on Thursday night as he accepted the Republican Party's presidential nomination on the convention's final evening. The emotional speech came after his decision earlier in the week to abandon his original 20-page speech due to Saturday's attempted assassination.

"So many people have asked me what happened, and therefore, I’ll tell you what happened," Trump said. "And you’ll never hear it from me a second time, because it’s too painful to tell."

As such, Trump began recounting the events from Butler, Pennsylvania over the weekend where the gunman, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, opened fire. The shot narrowly missed, hitting the former president's skull and instead pierced his right ear while he was turning to look at one of his immigration charts displayed on a screen at the event.

"In order to see the chart, I started to turn to my right, and was ready to begin a further turn, which I’m lucky I didn’t, when I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me, really hard, on my right ear," Trump recalled. "I said to myself, 'Wow, what was that—it can only be a bullet,'—and moved my right hand to my ear, brought it down, and my hand was covered with blood, just blood all over the place. I immediately knew it was very serious, that we were under attack, and in one movement, proceeded to drop to the ground."

"There was blood pouring everywhere, and yet, in a certain way I felt very safe, because I had God on my side," Trump continued. "The amazing thing is that prior to the shot, if I had not moved my head at the very last instant, the assassin’s bullet would have perfectly hit its mark, and I would not be with you tonight."

Despite shots ringing out at the crowded rally, attendees did not "run for the exits or stampede," Trump noted, but instead "tens of thousands of people stood by and didn’t move an inch. In fact, many of them bravely, but automatically, stood up looking for where the sniper would be, and then began pointing at him."

Because of this, Trump said, "many lives were saved."

"But that isn’t the reason they didn’t move—the reason is that they knew I was in serious trouble, they saw all of the blood, and thought I was dead, and they just didn’t want to leave me, and you can see that love written all over their faces," he said.

"I am not supposed to be here tonight," Trump said, as the crowd shouted back, "Yes you are."

"I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty God," Trump said. "In watching the reports over the last few days, many people say it was a providential moment."

"The crowd was confused because they thought I was dead," Trump said. "And there was great great sorrow. I could see that on their faces as I looked up. They didn't know I was looking out they thought it was over. When I could see it I wanted to do something to let them know I was okay. I raised my right arm looked at the thousands and thousands of people that were breathlessly waiting and started shouting, 'fight, fight, fight.'

Then, Trump recounted the moment the iconic fist-in-air photo was snapped by Associated Press photojournalist, Evan Vucci, as he was being carried off the stage surrounded by Secret Service.

"Once my clenched fist went up, high into the air, the crowd realized I was okay, and roared with pride for our country, like no crowd I have ever heard before," Trump said. "For the rest of my life, I will be grateful for the love shown by that giant audience of patriots that stood bravely on that fateful evening in Pennsylvania."

Former President Donald Trump paid tribute to firefighter Corey Comperatore, who was killed in last week's assassination attempt on Trump, calling the Pennsylvania father a "fine man."

"Tragically, the shooter claimed the life of one of our fellow Americans, Corey Comperatore, and seriously wounded two other great warriors.. David Dutch and James Copenhaver. I spoke to all three families of these tremendous people—our love and prayers are with them, and always will be," Trump said. " Corey, a highly respected former fire chief... was accompanied by his wife Helen... and two precious daughters. He lost his life selflessly acting as a human shield to protect them from flying bullets... what a fine man he was."

Trump then walked over to Comperatore's firefighting helmet and jacket that were placed on the stage next to the former president as a tribute before asking for a moment of silence.

"There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for others," Trump said. "This is the spirit that forged America in her darkest hours, and this is the love that will lead America back to the summit of human achievement and greatness."

Former President Donald Trump took the stage Thursday on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention, where he formally accepted the party's nomination for President of the United States.

"Together we will launch a new era of safety, prosperity and freedom for citizens of every race, religion, color and creed. The discord and division in our society must be healed. We must heal it quickly. As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a shared destiny. We rise together or we fall apart."

"I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America," he added. "So tonight, with faith and devotion, I proudly accept your nomination for president of the United States."

Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship calls former President Donald Trump a "fighter" in his speech to the Republican National Convention.

"I'm telling you what I know, and I know President Trump," White said. "I know President Trump is a fighter. I've been saying this since 2015. Now look at what's happened over the last ten years."

White is said to be a longtime friend and vocal supporter of the former president, and his speech comes after an assassination attempt against Trump last week.

"We have all seen it with our own eyes," White said. "I'm in the tough guy business and this man is the toughest, most resilient human being that I've ever met in my life."

"The higher the stakes, the harder he fights. And this guy never, ever gives up."

President of the UFC, Dana White -- a longtime friend and vocal supporter of Trump -- sang the former president's praises Thursday night, just moments before Trump is scheduled to take the stage and deliver his first major speech since the assassination attempt over the weekend.

"In my mind, the course choice is clear," White said. "But this election, we all get to choose. I know I'm going to choose strength and security. I know I'm going to choose opportunity and prosperity. I know I'm gonna choose real American leadership and a real American bada--."

Eric Trump, one of Trump’s three sons, took the stage on day four of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where he reminded Americans of his father's accomplishments in the White House.

"He decided to leave behind the comforts of an unbelievable business empire — to leave behind everything he had ever built — to answer the call to serve our nation," he said. "Unlike his predecessor, it was not a decision born out of necessity."

Speaking about the many achievements he had during his time in the White House from 2016 to 2021, Eric Trump declared Trump is ready for another four years.

“My father made the United States safe. Our borders were closed. There was peace in the Middle East," he said.

Eric said his father had been "ruthlessly silenced, slandered and attacked by a corrupt administration."

He also declared his father showed “unwavering courage” following the assassination attempt at a rally last weekend.

Speaking directly to his father, Eric said, "You wiped the blood off your face and you put your fist in the air in a moment that will be remembered as one of the most courageous acts in the history of American politics. You shouted, 'Fight, fight, fight!'"