2024 Election Latest: Trump to speak at RNC as convention enters fourth day, Biden has COVID-19

The Republican National Convention reaches its climax on Thursday with the former president Donald Trump expects them to party presidential nominationa comeback that has been four years in the making and was even more anticipated this past week following Saturday’s assassination attempt.

He is expected to accept his third consecutive party nod in prime time before thousands of supporters at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance addressed the same crowd on Wednesday.

Trump’s election opponent, President Joe Bidentested positive for COVID-19 during a trip to Las Vegas on Wednesday and is experiencing “mild symptoms” including “general malaise” from the infection, the White House said.

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Milwaukee Republicans have suggested all week that the embattled former president should strike a softer tone in the wake of the shooting, and have argued that the crisis offers an opportunity to de-escalate the divisive political rhetoric that has defined the 2024 campaign.

Donald Trump told the Washington Examiner that he rewrote his acceptance speech after Saturday’s shooting, emphasizing a call for national unity.

“The speech I was going to give on Thursday was going to be a blast,” he said. “If it hadn’t happened, it would have been one of the most incredible speeches,” focusing on President Trump’s policies Joe Biden.

“To be honest, it’s going to be a very different speech now,” he said.

If Trump does loosen the reins in this way, it will be in front of a delegation many of whom have been moved by Trump’s own defiant words delivered by U.S. Secret Service agents on Saturday. Their words have been echoed in chants of “fight, fight, fight.”

“I think his message will be better after he gets through that, and I think he’ll appeal to our better emotions,” said Lawrence Tabas, chairman of the Pennsylvania Republican Party. “He has tremendous compassion and empathy that doesn’t always show up.”

▶ Read more about what to watch on day 4 of the RNC

Hundreds of people gathered to remember the former fire chief who was fatally shot at a weekend meeting for former President Donald Trump were called upon to find “unity” as the rural Pennsylvania area tried to recover from the assassination attempt.

Wednesday’s public event was the first of two held to commemorate and celebrate the life of Corey Comperatore. The second, a visitation for friends, was scheduled for Thursday at Laube Hall in Freeport.

Outside Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, where the vigil was held for Comperatore, a sign read, “Rest in Peace Corey, Thank You for Your Service,” with his fire department’s logo.

On the country road leading to the racetrack – lined with cornfields, churches and industrial plants – a sign outside a local credit union read: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Comperatore family.”

▶ Read more about the wake for Corey Comperatore

A former president is shot, the shooter is quickly taken out, and it’s all caught on camera. But for those who can’t believe their eyes, this is just the beginning of the story.

For some supporters of former President Donald Trump, the failure of the secret service prevent the attempted murder points to a conspiracy orchestrated by President Joe Biden. But for some of Trump’s critics, the details of the shooting don’t add up. They wonder if Trump somehow staged the whole thing.

Two rival conspiracy theories have taken root online in the wake of Trump’s attempted assassination, one for each end of America’s polarized political spectrum. In this split-screen republic, Americans are increasingly choose their own realityat the expense of a shared understanding of the facts.

“One screen, two movies,” is how Ron Bassilian describes the online reaction to Saturday’s shooting. Bassilian is a prolific user of social media and has used X to spread his suspicions about the shooting. “People have their beliefs and they’re going to come up with theories that fit their beliefs.”

▶ Read more about the conspiracy theories surrounding the Trump shooting

Relatives of some of the 13 American servicemen killed appeared on stage at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in an emotional moment that revived one of the low points of President Joe Biden’s presidency.

Many of the Gold Star families have criticized Biden for never publicly naming their loved ones. Onstage Wednesday, one family member named each of the 13 service members, and the audience repeated each name as it was read aloud.

“Joe Biden has refused to acknowledge their sacrifice,” Christy Shamblin, the mother-in-law of Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee, told the crowd. “Donald Trump knew all of our children’s names. He knew all of their stories.”

The crowd chanted “Never forget!” and “USA!” as Trump and the entire convention hall stood.

▶ Read more about the Gold Star families seen at the RNC

JD Vance introduced himself to a national audience on Wednesday after being chosen as Donald Trumps running mate, in which he tells the story of his difficult childhood and argues that his party has the best insight into the challenges facing Americans in need.

Speaking to a packed house at the Republican National Convention, the Ohio senator cast himself as a fighter for a forgotten working class. He appealed directly to the Rust Belt voters who helped propel Trump to a surprise victory in 2016, expressing their anger and frustration.

The 39-year-old senator from Ohio is a relatively unknown political figure, having served in the Senate for less than two years. He has changed rapidly in recent years from a bitter critic of the former president into an aggressive defender and is now positioned to become the party’s future leader and torchbearer for Trump’s “Make America Great Again” political movement.

Vance, the first millennial to join the top of a major party, enters the race amid questions about the ages of the men at the top — 78-year-old Trump and 81-year-old President Joe Biden Biden — were high on voters’ list of concerns. He also joins Trump after an assassination attempt on the former president — in which Trump perhaps came inches away from death or serious injury — underscoring the importance of a potential successor.

▶ Read more about Vance’s RNC speech

The third night of conventions traditionally focuses on the running mate and how they round out a presidential ticket. Vance has certainly become a presence at the convention — mentions from the podium, his name now on signs with Trump, appearances with the former president on the first two nights of the convention.

But Trump is a dominant figure — even compared to other American presidents and world leaders. Pick any speaker on Wednesday, and their most passionate pitches weren’t about “Donald Trump and J.D. Vance.” They were about Trump.

“This is a man I know and the president we need for four more years,” said Kellyanne Conway, a former Trump adviser. “He will always stand up for you.”

Trump’s former White House physician, Rep. Ronny Jackson from Texas, called Trump “the best president this country has ever had” and “a president who even took a bullet for our country.”

It’s Trump’s party and his alone. No running mate can change that, especially not a freshman senator who has yet to celebrate his 40th birthday.

▶ Read the AP pick-up points of the third night of the RNC.

The convention closes with a blessing from Reverend Packy Thompson of Houma, Louisiana.

Thompson thanked God for Trump. “I also thank you for protecting him from the evil that was committed last Saturday,” he said.

And the meeting is adjourned until Thursday.

“Tonight, J.D. Vance, the poster boy for Project 2025, was front and center. But it’s working families and the middle class who suffer if he’s allowed to stay there,” said Michael Tyler, Biden’s campaign communications director.

“With the backing of Silicon Valley and the billionaires who bought his vice presidential pick, Vance is Project 2025 in human form — an agenda that puts extremism and the ultra-rich above our democracy.”

Vance made a promise to voters: “I promise to every American, regardless of your party, I will give you everything I have.”

He added: “To serve you and make this country a place where every dream you have for yourself, your family and your country will be possible again.”

After the speech, Vance’s extended family poured onto the stage with an unusual song for a Republican convention: Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow.”

The song became a political concept in 1992 when a very different young politician from a modest background ran for national office. That was Bill Clinton, who is of course a Democrat.