Trump closes out RNC with call for unity; includes familiar tone on economy, immigration
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Former president Donald Trump brought the 2024 Republican National Convention to an end Thursday night with a keynote address that left a crowd of delegates silent at some moments and raucous at others.
The first 20 minutes of Mr. Trump's speech was a soft-spoken recounting of an assassination attempt he survived five days earlier in Butler, Pennsylvania.
"I am not supposed to be here tonight," Mr. Trump told the audience. "I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty God. Many people say it was a providential moment."
At one point, the former president walked over to firefighter gear bearing the name of Corey Comparatore, who was killed by the would-be assassin, and kissed the helmet.
The former president spoke of unity and a desire to govern for all people should he return to the White House.
Later in his address, Mr. Trump focused heavily on two issues Wisconsin votes and pegged as their top priorities in this campaign, the economy and immigration.
The former president pledged to lower inflation, citing plans to increase domestic oil drilling and implementing additional tax cuts on top those passed under his administration in 2017. Echoing his newly announced running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Mr. Trump slammed North American trade details.
"By slashing energy costs, we will in turn reduce the cost of transportation, manufacturing, and all household goods," Mr. Trump said. "We have more liquid gold under our feet than any other country—we as a nation will make a fortune with oil and gas."
Mr. Trump also struck a familiar hardline tone on immigration, pledging to "close" the southern border and claiming illegal immigrants were taking jobs away from Black Americans and union members.
He also claimed Venezuelan crime was down 72% because its worst offenders were able to enter the U.S. Mr. Trump's campaign has not provide proof to back up that claim, nor has it offered specifics on how it would go about executing the largest deportation effort in recent U.S. history, a key tenet of the Trump campaign's 2024 platform.
Wisconsin is among a small group of states that could swing the election, and Mr. Trump's chances in November will largely hinge on his ability to reverse a trend of his underperforming in key Milwaukee suburban counties.
In 2016, Mr. Trump captured a smaller share of the vote than GOP Sen. Ron Johnson in Waukesha Ozaukee and Washington counties. When Johnson was elected to a third term in 2022, he outperformed Trump's 2020 showing in the 'WOW' counties.
Former Gov. Tommy Thompson said he was confident Mr. Trump would sway some of those skeptics because of momentum building for Republicans going into and during their convention in Milwaukee.
"The assassination attempt, JD Vance, the failure of the Democrats," Thompson listed as the reasons for his confidence. "The fact they are so divided and don't even know who their candidate's gonna be."
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who will serve as a Wisconsin delegate at the Democratic National Convention next month in Chicago, said he was confident his party would rally when it had to.
At the same time, he expressed frustration with private leaks from Democrats concerned President Joe Biden is not healthy enough to handle a second term and has committed enough gaffes in recent weeks to make a November victory seem unlikely.
"I do look at this as a distraction for the Democratic Party," Crowley said. "Doesn't give us the opportunity to really focus on those issues, and when I continue to hear these reports, it'll be interesting if these folks would actually come out in public and say it loud so we can actually have a plan in place if this is really the route that we're gonna be taking."
Thompson said he was confident Biden would announce within 10 days he will not seek re-election.
Prior to the speech, Stephanie Soucek, a Wisconsin delegate from Sturgeon Bay, said she was confident Trump would commit to striking a less divisive tone during the campaign while sticking to his penchant for off-the-cuff remarks during speeches.
"I think he's gonna be- he might have fun with it," Soucek said. "And I think there's gonna be some more serious moments, too, and I expect it to be unifying. And I would love to hear a unifying message."