The final night of the Republican National Convention featured firebrands like Tucker Carlson, fierce critics of Democrats and a long, wide-ranging speech from former President Donald Trump that featured unscripted political attacks and rare exposure of vulnerability.
Here are five takeaways.
Trump details the shooting A solemn-faced Trump detailed the “painful” events at Saturday’s rally. Despite chants from the audience, he insisted he was never supposed to be at the convention. “It is only by the grace of Almighty God that I stand before you on this stage,” he told the crowd.
Biden is barely mentioned (by name): Trump said he would only use President Joe Biden’s name once. But he used it twice: once when he described Biden as the worst president in history, and again when he said it would be the last time it was used.
That’s partly because the Trump campaign wanted to portray the Republican Party as united and positive, but also because Trump may not end up facing Biden again after all.
A rare sighting of Melania Trump: Melania Trump has kept a low profile since the end of the Trump administration, not attending Trump’s hush money trial or the CNN debates.
She attended the Republican National Convention for the first time on Thursday night, but unlike previous election years, she did not give a speech.
Out-of-control “Trump mania”: Testosterone was the theme of Thursday night’s lineup leading up to Trump’s speech, culminating with Hulk Hogan removing his T-shirt and declaring Trump a “true American hero.”
Conventions with few policies: Political conventions rarely feature nontechnical debates about policy, but even by normal standards — when problems are acknowledged and solutions are succinctly laid out — the 2024 Republican National Convention was puzzling, especially on the final night, when politicians mostly gave way to prominent figures on the right.
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