Trump Makes RNC Grand Entrance With Bandaged Ear After Shooting
Trump didn’t speak, but the through-line of his populist doctrine was evident at the Republican gathering.
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump made his first public appearance in Milwaukee, with a large white bandage covering the right ear that an assassin’s bullet pierced as Republicans gathered to nominate him as their presidential nominee for the third time in the last eight years.
The former president entered Fiserv Forum Monday to a standing ovation that lasted several minutes, during the Republican National Committee’s convention. He walked to a box near his family and stood next to US Senator JD Vance, whom he tapped earlier in the day as his 2024 running mate.
Trump didn’t speak, but the through-line of his populist doctrine was evident, from tapping Vance to the spate of speakers — which ranged from business executives to the head of the influential Teamsters union. They made the case for Trump’s approach with pledges to renew expiring tax cuts, slash regulations and hit other countries — both allies and adversaries — with tariffs.
“America, the land of opportunity, just doesn’t feel like that anymore,” said Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, a former Carlyle Group Inc. co-chief executive officer, who was seen as a favorite of Wall Street to be Trump’s running mate.
Trump’s selection of Vance, 39, also amounts to his anointing an heir apparent to carry on his populist doctrine.
Trump’s push for tariffs, which he has said could offset the cost of some tax cuts, threaten to boost prices for consumers and undermine economic growth.
The parade of speakers on Monday, though, depicted an America in which they said working-class families are struggling because of Biden’s agenda, seeking to tap into polls showing unease with the incumbent’s economic policies.
That anxiety has been fueled by persistent inflation that has hammered US households and overshadowed Biden’s efforts to sell the public on investments in domestic manufacturing and infrastructure under his watch.
High Prices
Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, whom Trump considered for a spot on the ticket, cast the Republican challenger’s approach as one which would help American families devastated by high prices and high taxes recover.
“I see our heartland filled with huge American factories, powered by abundant American energy, building what American needs, creating generational wealth for blue-collar workers,” Scott said.
A video during the convention touted Trump’s pledge to exempt tipped wages from taxes, a policy that portends to appeal to younger voters and people of color. The no-taxes-on-tips idea drew big applause from the delegates gathered in the convention hall.
Attendees waived signs saying “Make Housing Affordable Again” and “Make America Wealthy Again.”
Venture capitalist David Sacks lambasted Democrats, who he said “recklessly spent trillions of dollars of wasteful US government programs, setting off the worst inflation since Jimmy Carter.”
Sacks has been a symbol of Trump’s changing fortunes with the business community and has been a conduit to boost the Republican’s support and fundraising in Silicon Valley. Sacks’ criticism of Biden’s support for Ukraine, however, drew only tepid applause.
Populist Appeal
The Republican appeal to working-class voters is likely to intensify with Trump’s selection of Vance — a populist protege famous for , a memoir about his upbringing in rural poverty, and who has been a strident defender of the former president’s worldview in the Senate.
Vance is from Ohio, a state Trump won easily in 2016 and 2020, but his value to the ticket will be in Midwestern swing states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Polls show voters rate the economy as a defining issue for the election — and in many of those states rank-and-file union members are worried about the impact of Biden’s transition to electric vehicles on jobs and wages.
Biden and Trump have waged a furious battle for union workers in those states — a fight which saw the president win the endorsement of the United Auto Workers after joining a picket line — and both have courted the support of the Teamsters.
Trump received a boost when Teamsters union President Sean O’Brien addressed the gathering, praising the former president for inviting him to an event that typically doesn’t feature labor leaders.
But O’Brien’s remarks also highlighted the divide in the Republican party about how to view labor unions and business interests. The Teamsters chief lambasted the US Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable, a group representing corporate CEOs, as well as companies including Amazon.com Inc., Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc., who he said prioritize profits over workers.
Under Trump, the party, which for years had a cozy relationship with the business community, has grown more skeptical about the role of business. That’s a view that Vance, who has called for a crackdown on major tech companies, represents.
--With assistance from Nancy Cook, Jennifer Jacobs and Gregory Korte.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
