Trump, Donald J

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      Trump Can’t Help Himself. Will That Help Him Win?

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      The R.N.C. ended with uncertainty about whether Trump can capitalize on the opportunity ahead.The latestPresident Biden is maintaining his public defiance as more Democratic lawmakers call for him to exit the presidential race.A call with Vice President Kamala Harris struggled to reassure major donors that there was little to worry about.More than 25 million people watched former President Trump’s speech at the Republican National Convention.It was all going so well.The delegates in front of former President Trump were euphoric. The fake White House gleamed behind him. Everyone there, from the show runners to Hulk Hogan to Melania Trump, had nailed their role in a glitzy production aimed at returning Trump to the real Oval Office.Well, almost everyone.“I’d better finish strong,” Trump said, nearly 45 minutes into his acceptance speech. “Otherwise, we’ll blow it, and we can’t let that happen.”More than forty-six minutes later, when he finally finished a winding speech that grew heavy with grievance, it was clear that the person most likely to stop him from becoming the 47th president, the person most likely to blow it, was Trump himself. He couldn’t help it.Until then, the four-day spectacle that unfolded in Milwaukee had been a smooth celebration of the rise and astonishingly good luck of a former president who has consolidated the support of his party. But now, with the balloons popped and the T-R-U-M-P lights turned off, Trump has shown Republicans that he might be unable to seize fully the opportunity that has been laid out in front of him.An earthly celebrationAs Trump took the stage in Milwaukee, Democrats were having a full-on meltdown over President Biden and were trading polling showing that he could not win. They will spend much of the weekend with their eyes trained on Rehoboth Beach, Del., looking for white smoke as a president isolated by Covid-19 and the screaming doubts of his party drags out a Shakespearean drama over the future of his ambition.In Milwaukee, by contrast, it seemed as if nothing could go wrong. The week was an ode to a former president that a bullet had missed, and a sacrament for a man who many at the convention believed was protected by God. Earthly factors were working in his favor, too: Television screens had showed battleground polls leaning Trump’s way. And the convention itself was going off without a hitch.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Donald Trump Promised a Softer Image. He Delivered Hulkamania.

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      The last night of the Republican National Convention featured glimpses of a more sober tone — and a whole lot of testosterone.Who is Donald J. Trump?After over four decades of tabloid celebrity, reality-TV stardom and presidential politics, you would think this would be a settled question. But after his near assassination in Pennsylvania, the Republican National Convention teased that the former president was going to unveil a softer, changed version of himself. He would recast his acceptance speech to emphasize “unity,” a word that, in four days of TV coverage, was endlessly parroted and rarely defined.Mr. Trump turned himself into his own surprise guest. Would the final night of the convention portray him as a bellicose, combative alpha male, or as a sensitive late convert to empathy and self-reflection?The answer was: Yes, and yes. The night began with a pageant of hypermasculinity, with musclemen and ripped garments. It led to Mr. Trump’s taking the stage with a new, somber voice as he recounted his brush with death. Then, over the course of a digressive hour-and-a-half speech, he somehow changed back before our eyes.First came The Man Show. The introductory hours of the night featured a rotation of admirers, heavily male, who cited Mr. Trump’s close call and defiant survival as testimony to his macho fighting spirit.This is what male identity politics looks like. Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News personality — who has embraced the alt-right angst over testosterone levels — spoke off the cuff, suggesting that the shooting established Mr. Trump as a leader on a biological level. “A leader is the bravest man,” Mr. Carlson said. “This is a law of nature.”Kid Rock retooled his rap-metal anthem “American Bad Ass,” exhorting the delegates to throw up their fists and “Say fight! Fight! Say Trump! Trump!” Dana White, the beefy chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, introduced Mr. Trump.But the splashiest spectacle brought Hulkamania to Milwaukee. Terry G. Bollea, the handlebar-mustached wrestler who performs as Hulk Hogan, took the stage in character to praise “my hero, that gladiator,” working himself into a rage over the attempt on Mr. Trump’s life and ripping open his shirt to expose a “TRUMP-VANCE” tank top.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Spotted at the RNC: Melania Trump, and Many Faux Ear Bandages

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      As the Republican National Convention drew to a close, it painted a red, white and blue picture.On the final night of the Republican convention, just in time for her husband’s official nomination as his party’s presidential candidate, Melania Trump finally took her place by his side — sort of.She was the last Trump family member to make her entrance at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, stoking the will-she-or-won’t-she anticipation to the end, arriving well after Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, who have also been largely absent during the campaign; Don Jr. and his fiancée, Kimberly Guilfoyle; Eric Trump and his wife, Lara; and Tiffany Trump and her husband, Michael Boulos. (Barron Trump, Donald Trump’s son with Melania, did not appear, but assorted grandchildren did.)She walked in alone, in a red suit and towering red heels, hair down, bestowing queenly waves on an adoring crowd.Melania Trump enters on the red carpet at the final night of the Republican convention.Doug Mills/The New York TimesIf the suit struck a chord, that may be because it had been seen before. Mrs. Trump had worn the ensemble — from Dior, with a New Look silhouette — in 2017, when, as first lady, she visited Paris with her husband for the Bastille Day celebrations. For anyone who remembers that suit, seeing it again was like sliding down a wormhole to the recent past when the Trumps occupied the White House — a further reminder, like the virtual White House projected behind Mr. Trump as he made his speech, of the point of the whole shebang.Mrs. Trump was offering something of a preview of how she may again play her part. (Not to mention the fact that, despite Mr. Trump’s statements about manufacturing in America and buying American, she has never seemed all that interested in that idea.)We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Melania, Ivanka Take Their Seats at the R.N.C.

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      The tableau of Trump family unity is all but complete: Melania Trump has joined Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, in seats with other V.I.P.s at the back of the arena.At times in the past four years — in January 2021, in November 2022 — it seemed that the Trumps might be banished to the political hinterlands. But this week’s events made it clear that the family is at the center of the modern Republican Party more than ever before.Politics has become the family business. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have been fixtures of the convention. Lara Trump, Eric’s wife, spoke Tuesday as the co-chair of the Republican Party. Donald Trump Jr.’s teenage daughter, Kai, spoke Wednesday night, after the younger Mr. Trump’s longtime fiancée, Kimberly Guilfoyle. Tiffany Trump, Mr. Trump’s younger daughter, was in the audience on Monday.But Mr. Trump’s wife, his youngest son and his older daughter have been notably absent — not just this week, but throughout the campaign. (Barron Trump, 18, has not appeared in the family seats Thursday night.)Melania Trump, whose politics and relationship with her husband have long drawn considerable interest, has largely opted out of this campaign. Her last known political appearance with Mr. Trump was when they went together to cast their primary ballots on Super Tuesday in March. The next week, he clinched the nomination.As Mr. Trump took the stage, Mrs. Trump was seated next to J.D. Vance, his vice-presidential pick.Ivanka Trump, 42, introduced Mr. Trump at the conventions in 2016 and 2020. She was a senior adviser to her father in the White House.This time, she said at the outset of his run that she would not be involved. Ms. Trump, a mother of three, has focused on family life and has not appeared on the campaign trail. More

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      Here Are the Speakers at Tonight’s 2024 Republican Convention

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      The Republican National Convention will end Thursday night with Donald J. Trump formally accepting the party’s presidential nomination.Before that, the night will include leaders of the Republican Party’s efforts to retain its House majority and retake the Senate, as well as former Trump administration officials and celebrities — among them the wrestler Hulk Hogan.The programming will begin around 5:30 p.m. Central time. Here are the major speakers on the agenda, in the order they are scheduled to speak, according to a person briefed on the planning.5 o’clock hourSenator Steve Daines of Montana, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial CommitteeRepresentative Richard Hudson of North Carolina, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee6 o’clock hourDiane Hendricks, billionaire businesswoman from WisconsinDiane Evans, member of the “Trumpettes” group of female Trump supportersLinda McMahon, former head of the Small Business AdministrationMike Pompeo, former secretary of stateLorenzo Sewell, “everyday American” and pastorJohn Nieporte, top golf professional at one of Mr. Trump’s clubsSteve Witkoff, real estate investor7 o’clock hourAlina Habba, one of Mr. Trump’s lawyersTucker Carlson, former Fox News hostCarrie Ruiz, golf general manager at one of Mr. Trump’s clubsHulk Hogan, retired wrestlerAnnette Albright, former school board candidate in Charlotte, N.C.8 o’clock hourFranklin Graham, evangelical leaderEric Trump, Mr. Trump’s sonDana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship9 o’clock hourFormer President Donald J. TrumpMaggie Haberman More

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      A Party Now Molded in Trump’s Image Prepares for a Coronation

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      Thursday night, when Donald J. Trump accepts the Republican presidential nomination for the third time, will be the culmination of an extraordinary run of good fortune.Exactly seven weeks ago, Donald J. Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts in Manhattan, an unprecedented conviction of a former president that looked like a political rock bottom.Since then, the Supreme Court handed him a critical legal victory that threw those felony convictions and more cases into limbo. President Biden’s disastrous debate plunged the Democratic Party into a rolling crisis. Two days before the opening of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, he narrowly survived an assassination attempt that shocked the nation and quieted Democrats’ criticism and any remaining Republican grumbling.And hours before Mr. Trump formally received his party’s nomination on Monday, the judge overseeing another of the criminal cases against him — the one involving accusations that he had mishandled classified documents — threw out all of the charges.Thursday night, when Mr. Trump accepts the Republican presidential nomination for the third time, will be the culmination of an extraordinary run of good fortune and a testament to his political instincts. His address will also in many ways serve as the Republican Party’s coronation of a leader who went from rattling the conservative establishment to refashioning it entirely in his image.“Eight years ago, Donald Trump shocked the system and defied the doubters,” Kellyanne Conway, the adviser who brought his campaign to the finish line then, said on Wednesday night.This week, the doubters in his own party proved hard to find. Over the first three days, Republicans of all stripes — elected officials, regular Americans, his family — have taken turns seeking to reintroduce Donald Trump: not the chaotic president from news headlines, but a softer, kinder leader, yet unafraid to fight. With a bandage on his right ear, where the would-be assassin’s bullet went through, he has basked in a hero’s welcome every night.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      A Blind Spot and a Lost Trail: How the Gunman Got So Close to Trump

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      About an hour before a gunman let loose a volley of bullets that nearly assassinated a former president, the law enforcement contingent in Butler, Pa., was on the verge of a great policing success.Among the thousands of people streaming in to cheer former President Donald J. Trump at a campaign rally on Saturday, local officers spotted one skinny young man acting oddly and notified other law enforcement. The Secret Service, too, was informed, through radio communication. The suspicious man did not appear to have a weapon.Remarkably, law enforcement had found the right man — Thomas Matthew Crooks, a would-be assassin, though officers did not know that at the time. Then they lost track of him.Twenty minutes before violence erupted, a sniper, from a distance, spotted Mr. Crooks again and took his picture.As time slipped away, at least two local officers were pulled from traffic detail to help search for the man. But the Secret Service, the agency charged with protecting Mr. Trump, did not stop him from taking the stage. Eight minutes after Mr. Trump started to speak, Mr. Crooks fired off bullets that left the Republican presidential nominee bloodied and a rally visitor dead.Secret Service snipers surveilling the surrounding area before Mr. Trump began to speak.Eric Lee/The New York TimesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Lee Greenwood’s ‘God Bless the U.S.A.’ Has Become a Trump Rally Anthem

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      Lee Greenwood’s song “God Bless the U.S.A.” has been former President Donald J. Trump’s fanfare since he became the leader of the Republican Party, embracing its status as an anthem in Grand Old Party politics dating back 40 years.To Mr. Greenwood, a Grammy Award-winning country music star, it is a match made in heaven. He sold the rights to the song for $1 in 1984, thrilled that Sig Rogich, responsible for creating ads for former President Ronald Reagan, had said that the campaign wanted to use it. More recently, it has been played to commence scores of Mr. Trump’s rallies, often to cheers and singalongs from the thousands in attendance.But as Mr. Greenwood took the stage at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday night, minutes before Mr. Trump’s first public appearance since surviving an assassination attempt, the singer-songwriter, like the millions of Americans glued to their TVs, had no idea what to expect.“All I could do was guess what his emotions could be, what his physical condition would be,” Mr. Greenwood said in an interview. “I was like everybody else in the arena looking at the jumbotron, showing him walking down the hallway.”Mr. Greenwood, a self-identified conservative, is both Mr. Trump’s personal friend and business partner. He spent time late Wednesday afternoon taking pictures with adoring fans and signing wide-eyed supporters’ “God Bless the USA Bibles,” Trump-promoted bundles that come with lyrics from Mr. Greenwood’s song and foundational American documents. Mr. Greenwood said that he was “naturally emotional” and shocked when he learned that the former president would not be delaying his arrival to the convention after a bullet pierced his upper right ear on Saturday at a rally in Butler, Pa.That information came in a phone call the day after the shooting. Mr. Greenwood was told to make sure that he was in Milwaukee by Monday morning — enough time to prepare for the live performance accompanying Mr. Trump’s entrance into the convention venue, Fiserv Forum, that evening. When Mr. Greenwood started singing, his voice competing with the cheers of attendees elated to see the former president — his right ear wrapped in a white bandage as he walked to his V.I.P. box, pumping his fist and mouthing “thank you” to his supporters — the two friends made eye contact for just a brief moment.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More