Tens of thousands of Donald Trump supporters are gathering in Milwaukee on Monday for the Republican Party convention, a historic high-tension event, shaken by the attempted assassination of the former president.
Already arrived in the former industrial town overlooking Lake Michigan, the 78-year-old former businessman will most likely be greeted with renewed fervor by his supporters, who nearly lost their hero on Saturday.
The venue chosen for the convention is a huge, very modern sports complex, whose walls are covered with large photographs glorifying the 45th President of the United States, who also wants to be the 47th.
But the image that everyone has in mind, and which has gone around the world, is that of a Donald Trump with a bloody ear, his fist raised, hastily evacuated Saturday by his bodyguards from a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
“I should be dead”
“I shouldn’t be here, I should be dead,” the former president said in an interview aboard his plane en route to Milwaukee and broadcast Sunday by the New York Post.
It was a “very surreal experience,” he observed of the assassination attempt, wearing a white bandage over his right ear, according to the newspaper.
The Republican claimed that if he had not tilted his head slightly to the right, he would have died, the conservative daily reports.
“It’s by luck or by the grace of God, many people say it’s by the grace of God, that I’m still here,” he said.
The attack shocked an increasingly polarized American society, angering the most radical Trump activists, who openly accuse Democrats of responsibility.
The mystery running mate
The first highlight of the Republican convention in Milwaukee will likely come Monday, with the announcement of Donald Trump’s choice to be his next vice president, if he wins the election on November 5.
Three names keep coming up.
That of best-selling author turned congressman JD Vance; North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum; and influential Latino Florida Senator Marco Rubio.
Unless Donald Trump, fond of political twists, announces a completely unexpected profile.
The Republican billionaire’s running mate will deliver a speech Wednesday night in the convention’s main hall, which has been covered for the occasion with red carpets and elephant motifs, the party’s symbol.
The major themes of this unmissable event will be purchasing power, immigration, crime and the security guaranteed by a strong America.
But the high point of this great institutional and festive event will come on Thursday, when Donald Trump will be designated the official Republican candidate for the presidency.
His coronation is no longer in doubt, formalized during a spectacular evening, punctuated by the release of 100,000 red, white and blue balloons, already in place.
The convention’s motto: “Make America Great Again,” a nod to Donald Trump’s 2016 slogan.
The septuagenarian Republican arrived in this city in the Great Lakes region on Sunday, but is keeping his schedule extremely discreet, for security reasons.
A “folded” match
With more than 50,000 participants, the Republican Party’s grand mass already promised to be an ultra-secure event.
Entire areas of the city center are fenced off with large metal fences and patrolled by Secret Service agents.
This elite police force responsible for protecting high-ranking officials has assured that it is “totally ready” to guarantee the security of the Republican convention.
But she has come under heavy criticism for failing to adequately protect Donald Trump during his outdoor rally on Saturday.
Shaking up his schedule, President Joe Biden worked during this weekend that will mark the country to reduce tension, in several solemn speeches.
“There is no place for this kind of violence in America,” the 81-year-old Democrat said, before calling on the nation to “unite.” The White House incumbent also called his slightly injured rival, saying he was “relieved” that he was safe and condemning the shootings, like other world leaders.
The attack on Donald Trump could benefit him electorally, political science experts believe, citing the precedent of Ronald Reagan, who was seriously injured by a bullet in 1981.
They note in contrast how Joe Biden is currently weakened by nagging questions about his advanced age and mental acuity, with elected officials in his own Democratic Party calling on him to withdraw from the race for the White House.
For Martin Kutlzer, a Milwaukee resident and Republican sympathizer, there is no doubt: the race for the White House is “over.”
“Donald Trump will win, because we always tend to rally around those who have been affected,” the sixty-year-old proudly proclaims to AFP.