Five days after surviving an assassination attempt, Donald Trump has addressed the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
In a speech lasting an hour and a half, he described feeling the assassin's bullet hit his ear and being smothered by Secret Service agents
"I'm not supposed to be here," he told the crowd, adding: "I had God on my side"
Melania Trump made a rare public appearance, joining her husband on stage, along with other family members
Before the speech, wrestling legend Hulk Hogan ripped off his shirt and told Americans to embrace "Trumpamania"
While Republicans celebrate, US President Joe Biden faces new questions over his candidacy for re-election
Trump only mentioned Biden's name once in his speech, focusing instead on deporting migrants en masse, the economy and inflation
'It can only be a bullet' - Trump describes moment he was shot at
Image source, ReutersThe Trump family stayed on stage waving to supporters for about 20 minutes, but they have now left.
Before they did, Trump and JD Vance engaged with their supporters who gathered around the stage.
Trump pointed at a few and raised his fist.
Several supporters kept trying to get Trump to do his signature dance, where he pumps his arms back and forth. He did not oblige.
Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent, reporting from in the arena
Donald Trump just delivered the longest nomination acceptance speech in at least 50 years, before national political conventions became slickly packaged productions for a national television audience.
His muted delivery befitted the serious subject of the early minutes of his speech – as he recounted his near assassination in almost messianic language.
But from there, the speech turned toward more traditional Trumpian fare. It came across as one of his lengthy rally speeches, complete with extended ad libs, only without the energy that usually accompanies them.
Perhaps it’s because, given the trauma on Saturday, he didn’t have time to fully rehearse. But for a convention that has been remarkably well produced – and given the level of energy from the stage from opening acts by wrestler Hulk Hogan and singer Kid Rock – the speech may land with a thud.
There were times when it felt like the convention audience was cheering in an effort to will him to the finish line – and, at times, the former president appeared to perk up. But those moments never lasted.
Of course, Trump is ahead in this race and Democrats are currently in turmoil.
A boring speech poorly delivered may do nothing to move the needle. But, at the moment, Trump may be happy to leave the needle where it is.
Trump vows to build 'iron dome missile defence system'
Trump says Biden inherited a "world at peace and turned it into a planet of war".
He warns adversaries to return American hostages or pay a very big price when he returns to the White House.
And he promises to build a defence system to protect the US from attack.
Watch to find out more about how Trump says he can stop wars with a phone call.
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from the arena floor
Watch Trump and Melania kiss as balloons drop to end Republican convention
I’m standing right up against the stage as balloons start to rain down on us. It’s hard to write these words since they keep hitting me in the face.
Donald Trump's whole family is lined up on stage with him.
Melania Trump, his wife, joins him on stage first. He kisses her on the cheek before other members of the family join them.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner walk out, along with Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr and their families.
The opera aria Nessun dorma is sung live by US tenor Christopher Macchio - it's a song featured often at Trump events.
After Trump's speech, waves and waves of balloons are falling from the ceiling.
As they bounce off delegates on the arena floor, the sound of inflated rubber popping echoes through the stadium.
The Republican Party Platform, which outlines the party’s policy positions, starts with a dedication to the “forgotten people of America”.
And as Trump finished his speech, he echoed that dedication.
“To all of the forgotten men and women who have been neglected, abandoned, and left behind, you will be forgotten no longer,” he says.
After more than an hour and a half, he stops to take the applause of the crowd.
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from the arena floor
High on the ceiling, hundreds and hundreds of red, white and blue balloons are stashed up in nets.
In a few moments, as Trump finishes his speech, the convention planners will release them into the arena.
Trump has been talking for over an hour, and after standing for a good chunk of the speech, large parts of the crowd are sitting down.
Trump tells Republicans: 'I will end every single international crisis'
"It's time for a change," the former president told the convention before launching into a series of pledges to the American people.
Watch Trump promise to lower inflation, end illegal immigration and stop wars he says would never have happened if he were in the White House.
He is referencing major battles of American history, and suggesting they represent moments of unity for the country.
“When our way of life was threatened, American patriots marched onto battlefields, raced into enemy strongholds, and stared down death to keep alive the flame of freedom. At Yorktown, Gettysburg, and Midway, they joined the roll call of immortal heroes,” Trump says.
“Just like our ancestors, we must now come together, rise above past differences and disagreements, and go forward united, as one people, and one nation,” he adds.
Trump started his speech with a call for unity - and as we approach the end of his address, he’s seeking to ram that message home.
When talking about his policies on immigration, Trump said earlier: “I will end the illegal immigration crisis by closing our border and finishing the wall, most of which I have already built."
The former president pledged in 2016 to build a concrete wall along the US-Mexico border's entire 2,000-mile length.
But the plan became bogged down in opposition from Congress and a barrage of lawsuits.
Ultimately he did not construct "most" of the wall during his time in the White House.
In reality, he constructed fewer than 500 miles.
A report by US Customs and Border Protection puts it at 458 miles, external - 403 miles of new primary wall and 55 miles of new secondary wall - constructed between January 2017 and when Trump left office.
President Biden suspended construction when he came into office, but last year his administration allowed the building of a section of wall in southern Texas in an effort to stop rising levels of immigration.
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from the arena floor
Image source, Getty ImagesVivek Ramaswamy
Vivek Ramaswamy - Trump's onetime rival for the nomination and now a staunch ally - is watching the speech from the floor, with the Ohio delegation.
His arms are folded across the chest, and he remains standing for a few minutes before taking a seat again.
Trump is talking about crime again.
"We will restore and renovate our nation’s once-great cities, making them safe, clean, and beautiful again - and that includes our nation’s capital in Washington DC."
He makes a point of referring to the city he has often branded as the swamp.
He describes Washington DC as a "horrible killing field" because of crime.
Gareth Evans
Reporting from the arena
Image source, Getty ImagesTrump is suggesting the US could build an Iron Dome missile defence system over the whole country, similar to the one used by Israel.
“We will replenish our military, and build an Iron Dome missile defence system to ensure that no enemy can strike our homeland - and this great Iron Dome will all be made in the USA.”
It's worth noting that this isn't a new suggestion from the former president.
But military experts have expressed scepticism over the idea, both because of its potential cost and real-world effectiveness.
"You can't defend the entire United States. It's unrealistic, unaffordable and unachievable," General Glen VanHerck, the former head of North American Aerospace Defense Command, told ABC News when asked about the idea last month.
Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent, reporting from in the arena
Usually, presidential nomination acceptance speeches are tightly scripted and polished by the time they’re delivered. That hasn’t always been the case with Trump’s speech tonight.
It’s been marked by extended ad libs reminiscent of his longer rally addresses.
In fact, one of Trump’s favourite recent jokes just made an appearance – the 1991 thriller Silence of the Lambs and its cannibal villain Hannibal Lecter.
"The late great Hannibal Lecter," Trump says. "He would love to have you for dinner."
I think it’s safe to say this is the first time a fictional serial killer has ever made it into this kind of address.
Trump: 'We are a nation in decline'
Donald Trump paints a grim picture of the state of America - and he blames the Biden administration for inflation, illegal immigration and a series of international crises.
Trump has been touting his record of tax cuts throughout this speech.
Referring to his first administration, he said: “We gave you the largest tax cut. We'll do it more."
Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act brought in sweeping cuts to taxation across the board. These are due to expire in 2025 unless the next administration extends them.
But they’re not the largest in history.
According to analysis done by the independent Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, external, Trump’s tax cuts were the eighth-largest since 1918 measured as a percentage of the size of the economy (GDP), and the fourth-largest in dollar terms since 1940 adjusted for inflation.
Image source, Getty Images“Our opponents inherited a world at peace and turned it into a planet of war,” he tells his supporters.
He refers to the “chaotic” withdrawal from Afghanistan that happened in 2021 and led to withering criticism of Joe Biden over the Taliban's lightning conquest of the war-torn country.
“Emboldened by that disaster, Russia invaded Ukraine. Israel endured the worst attack in its history. Now China is circling Taiwan,” Trump says, attempting to draw a link between disparate foreign conflicts.
Gareth Evans
Reporting from the arena
"It's nice to get along with someone who has a lot of nuclear weapons," Trump says of North Korea's Kim Jong Un.
He jokes that he thinks the country's leader "misses him" - prompting laughter on the floor of the arena.
I can see the teleprompter from up here in the media area, and it was another ad lib.
Let’s take a look at a claim Trump just made about crime rates.
“Meanwhile, our crime rate is going up, while crime statistics all over the world are going down,” he said during his speech.
Trump did not specify what kind of crime he was talking about, but violent offences in the US fell significantly last year - with a big drop of 13% in the murder rate,, external according to data released by the FBI.
These statistics aren’t a complete picture, however, as about 20% of local police departments are yet to submit their figures.
Also, these FBI stats for 2023 haven’t been audited yet, with official figures expected to be released in October.
The latest FBI's crime data, external indicates that this downward trend in violent crime has continued into 2024, with reported incidents falling 15% in the first three months of 2024, compared to the same period last year.
Recorded murders dropped by more than 26% in the same time period.
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from the arena floor
Trump brings back a controversial phrase from the Covid-19 pandemic, when he called the disease the "China virus".
He repeats that phrase now and the crowd cheers.
Critics of Trump said at the time that the phrase might incite bigotry against Asian Americans during the pandemic, and those same opponents may well cast doubt now on his talk tonight about unity.
But Trump's allies always defended the term "China virus", saying they were merely referring to the geographical origins of the infection.