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RNC 2024 Day 2 updates: Trump rivals take center stage along with divine intervention

PHOTO: Former President Donald Trump attends the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, July 16, 2024.
3:29
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
RNC Day 2 highlights: Former Trump rivals Haley, DeSantis take stage
By Meredith Deliso, Ivan Pereira, Tal Axelrod, Chris Boccia, Alexandra Hutzler
Last Updated: July 17, 2024, 3:26 AM

The second day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee ended Tuesday with appearances from some of former President Donald Trump's former rivals: former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy -- all calling for Republican Party unity.

They were joined by some of Trump's longest allies including Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Ben Carson in bashing the Democrats over what they claimed were harmful and failed policies.

The program focused on law and order with a theme of making the country "safe again."

Trump, with a bandage on his ear, made an appearance again Tuesday evening -- just days after he was wounded in an assassination attempt at one of his rallies in Pennsylvania over the weekend. Several speakers touched on that God spared Trump in the shooting, saving him for a divine plan for the presidency.

Latest headlines:

  • Lara Trump addresses assassination attempt in final speech of the night
  • Full Trump family to attend RNC Thursday: Sources
  • Crowd mimics Trump's raised fist: 'Fight, fight, fight'
  • Haley supporters react to speech
  • Rubio urges fighting 'with our voices and our votes'
Here's how the news is developing:

Jul 17, 2024 3:26 AM

Lara Trump addresses assassination attempt in final speech of the night

In the final speech of the night, RNC co-chair Lara Trump largely focused on the assassination attempt on her father-in-law.

"It may not be a surprise that I actually had a very different speech that I was prepared to give up here tonight," she began. "That all changed at 6:11 on Saturday evening. Nothing prepares you for a moment like that."

PHOTO: Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump speaks on stage on the second day of the Republican National Convention, July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump speaks on stage on the second day of the Republican National Convention, July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Lara Trump recounted how she grabbed the remote to shut off the television so her children wouldn't see the images of their grandfather.

She said the incident was a "jarring reminder that we, as Americans, must always remember there is more that unites us than divides us."

She thanked the former president for his "resilience," calling him a "lion," while calling on voters to cast their ballot for him.

"In that split second on Saturday, Donald Trump reminded us all of that very history and who we are at our core as a nation. That is the Donald Trump that I know," she said.

VIDEO: Donald Trump 'never backed down,' Lara Trump says in RNC speech
20:21
The former president’s daughter-in-law delivered a speech on the second day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Jul 17, 2024 3:23 AM

Full Trump family to attend RNC Thursday: Sources

The entire Trump family will be in attendance at the RNC on Thursday night, sources tell ABC News.

Melania Trump, Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner will all join the former president as he gives his acceptance speech.

It will be the first time in this presidential cycle the Trump family will be together.

Sources say Melania and Ivanka will not be speaking but attending to show their support.

-ABC News' John Santucci


Jul 17, 2024 3:17 AM

Crowd mimics Trump's raised fist: 'Fight, fight, fight'

As Lara Trump spoke about Donald Trump pumping his fist after being shot at his Pennsylvania rally over the weekend, the RNC crowd reacted by raising their own fists in the air.

"Fight, fight, fight," they shouted.



Jul 17, 2024 3:15 AM

Haley supporters react to speech

ABC News contacted several of Nikki Haley's supporters to ask their reactions to her speech at the RNC Tuesday night.

Jack LaFrankie, a voter in Tennessee, told ABC News that he agreed with much of Haley's speech and that if the election were held today, he would reluctantly vote for Trump.

Eli Raykinstein, an incoming sophomore at Michigan State University, said her speech resonated with him.

"I also like how she spoke to the people who weren't totally sold on Trump, not just to the base he already has," Raykinstein said.

PHOTO: Nikki Haley speaks during the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention, in Milwaukee, July 16, 2024.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
Nikki Haley speaks during the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention, in Milwaukee, July 16, 2024.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Thalia Flores from New Hampshire said she would never vote for Trump.

"Never. She just bought herself a cabinet position -- probably Secretary of State," she said.

After Haley's speech, Louis Hibbs, an undecided voter from Boothwyn, Pennsylvania, told ABC News that he's still undecided.

"I still can't help looking back at the debate and the way Biden was stumbling over his own words," he said.

Undecided North Carolina voter Roger Stewart told ABC News that Haley is a true Republican.

"I'm still undecided. That's my official and honest declaration. I loved her speech, though," Stewart said.

-ABC News' Hannah Demissie, Kelsey Walsh and Isabella Murray


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