Source: RNC
Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination for president during the fourth Republican National Convention. Below Trump’s speech remarks as prepared for delivery.
“Friends, Delegates, and fellow citizens:
I stand before you this evening with a message of confidence, strength, and hope. Four months from now, we will have an incredible victory, and we will begin the four greatest years in the history of our country.
Together, we will launch a new era of safety, prosperity and freedom for citizens of every race, religion, color, and creed.
The discord and division in our society must be healed. As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a shared destiny. We rise together. Or we fall apart.
I am running to be president for ALL of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America.
So tonight, with faith and devotion, I proudly accept your nomination for president of the United States.
Let me begin this evening by expressing my gratitude to the American people for your outpouring of love and support following the assassination attempt at my rally on Saturday. As you already know, the assassin’s bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life.
So many people have asked me what happened, and therefore, I’ll tell you what happened, and you’ll never hear it from me a second time, because it’s too painful to tell.
It was a warm, beautiful day in the early evening in Butler Township in the great commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Music was loudly playing, and the campaign was doing well. I went to the stage, and the crowd was cheering wildly. I began speaking very happily because I was discussing the great job my administration did on immigration at the southern border. Behind me and to the right was a large screen that was displaying a chart of border crossings under my leadership. The numbers were amazing. In order to see the chart, I started to turn to my right, and was ready to begin a further turn, which I’m lucky I didn’t, when I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me, really hard, on my right ear.
I said to myself, “Wow, what was that—it can only be a bullet,”—and moved my right hand to my ear, brought it down, and my hand was covered with blood. I immediately knew it was very serious, that we were under attack, and in one movement, proceeded to drop to the ground.
Bullets continued to fly as very brave Secret Service agents rushed to the stage and pounced on top of me for protection. There was blood pouring everywhere, and yet, in a certain way I felt very safe, because I had God on my side.
The amazing thing is that prior to the shot, if I had NOT moved my head at the very last instant, the assassin’s bullet would have perfectly hit its mark, and I would not be with you tonight.
The most incredible aspect of what took place on that terrible evening in the fading sun was seen later. In almost all cases, and when even a single bullet is fired—and we had many—crowds run for the exits or stampede, but not in this case. This massive crowd of tens of thousands of people stood by and didn’t move an inch. In fact, many of them bravely, but automatically, stood up looking for where the sniper would be, and then began pointing at him.
Nobody ran, and by not stampeding, many lives were saved. But that isn’t the reason they didn’t move—the reason is that they knew I was in serious trouble, they saw all of the blood, and thought I was dead, and they just didn’t want to leave me, and you can see that love written all over their faces. Bullets were flying over us, yet I felt serene—but now the Secret Service agents were putting themselves in peril. And then it all stopped. Our Secret Service sniper, from a much greater distance, and with only one bullet, took the assassin out.
I am not supposed to be here tonight. I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty God. Many people say it was a providential moment.
When I rose, surrounded by Secret Service, the crowd was confused because they thought I was dead, and there was great sorrow on their faces until I raised my right arm, looked at the thousands of people that were breathlessly waiting, and started shouting FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT. Once my clenched fist went up, high into the air, the crowd realized I was okay, and roared with pride for our country, like no crowd I have ever heard before. For the rest of my life, I will be grateful for the love shown by that giant audience of patriots that stood bravely on that fateful evening in Pennsylvania.
Tragically, the shooter claimed the life of one of our fellow Americans, Corey Comperatore, and seriously wounded two other great warriors, David Dutch and James Copenhaver. I spoke to all three families of these tremendous people—our love and prayers are with them, and always will be. Corey, a highly respected former fire chief, was accompanied by his wife Helen and two precious daughters. He lost his life selflessly acting as a human shield to protect them from flying bullets. He was such a fine man. Next to me on stage this evening are Corey’s firefighting helmet and jacket. I now ask that we observe a moment of silence in honor of Corey.
There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for others. This is the spirit that forged America in her darkest hours, and this is the love that will lead America back to the summit of human achievement and greatness.
Despite such a heinous attack, we unite this evening more determined than ever. Our resolve is unbroken, and our purpose is unchanged–to deliver a government that serves the American People.
Nothing will stop me in this mission. Because our vision is righteous and our cause is pure.
No matter what obstacle comes our way: we will not break. We will not bend. We will not back down. And I will never stop fighting for you, your family, and our magnificent country.
Everything I have to give, with all of the energy and fight in my heart and soul, I pledge to our nation tonight.
This election should be about the issues facing our country and how to make America successful, safe, free, and great again. In an age when our politics too often divide us, now is the time to remember that we are all fellow citizens—we are one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
We must not criminalize dissent or demonize political disagreement. In that spirit, the Democrat Party should immediately stop weaponizing the Justice System and labeling their political opponent as an enemy of democracy, especially since that is not true, in fact, I am the one saving democracy for the people of our country. On Monday, a major ruling was handed down from a highly respected federal Judge in Florida, Aileen Cannon, finding that the prosecutor and the fake documents case against me were totally unconstitutional and the entire case was thrown out. If Democrats want to unify our country, they should drop these partisan witch hunts without delay, and allow an election to proceed that is worthy of our people.
On this journey, I am deeply honored to be joined by my amazing wife, Melania. Thank you, Melania, and thank you also for your beautiful letter to America calling for national unity. It captivated so many. I also want to thank my entire family—Don and Kimberly, Ivanka and Jared, Eric and Lara, Tiffany and Michael, Barron, and of course, my ten wonderful grandchildren.
I am thrilled to have a new friend and partner fighting by my side: the next VICE PRESIDENT of the United States, the current Senator from Ohio, J.D. Vance, and his incredible wife, Usha.
And a very special thank you to the extraordinary people of Milwaukee and the great state of Wisconsin for hosting this outstanding convention. And by the way, Wisconsin, we are spending over $200 million dollars here, creating jobs and other economic development all over the place—I hope you will remember this and give us your vote in November! We will Make Wisconsin Great Again, I promise.
I am here tonight to lay out a vision for the whole nation. To every citizen, whether you are young or old, man or woman, Democrat, Republican, or Independent, black or white, Asian or Hispanic, I extend to you a hand of loyalty and friendship.
Together, we will lead America to new heights of greatness like the world has never seen before.
Under our leadership, the United States will be RESPECTED again. No nation will question our power. No enemy will doubt our might. Our borders will be totally SECURE. Our economy will soar. We will return LAW and ORDER to our streets, PATRIOTISM to our schools, and importantly, we will restore peace, stability, and harmony all throughout the world.
But to achieve this future, we must first rescue our nation from failed leadership. This will be the most important election in the history of our country.
Under the current administration, we are a nation in decline.
We have an INFLATION CRISIS that is making life unaffordable, ravaging the incomes of working and low-income families, and crushing our people.
We also have an ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRISIS – a massive invasion at our southern border that has spread misery, crime, poverty, disease, and destruction to communities all across our land.
Then there is an INTERNATIONAL CRISIS the likes of which the world has seldom seen. War is now raging in Europe and the Middle East, a growing specter of conflict hangs over Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines, and all of Asia, and our planet is teetering on the edge of World War Three, and this will be a war like no other.
It is time for a CHANGE. We simply cannot sustain four more years of this administration.
So tonight, I make this pledge to the great People of America:
I will END the devastating Inflation Crisis immediately, bring down interest rates, and lower the cost of energy—we will DRILL, BABY, DRILL, which will lead to a large-scale decline in prices.
I will END the Illegal Immigration Crisis by closing our border and finishing the wall, most of which I have already built.
I will END every single International Crisis that the current administration has created—including the horrible war with Russia and Ukraine, and the war caused by the attack on Israel, both of which would never have happened if I were president.
Together, we will restore VISION, STRENGTH, COMPETENCE, and COMMON SENSE to the Oval Office.
Just a few short years ago under my presidency, we had the most secure border and the best economy in the history of our country. We had NO inflation, soaring incomes, and the world was at peace.
But in less than four years, our opponents have turned incredible success into unparalleled tragedy and failure.
Today, our cities are flooded with illegal aliens. Americans are being squeezed out of the labor force and their jobs taken. Inflation has wiped out the life savings of our citizens, and forced the Middle Class into a state of depression and despair.
We cannot, and will not, let this continue. Less than four years ago, we were a great nation, and we will soon be a great nation again.
With proper leadership, every disaster we are now enduring will be fixed—and fixed quickly.
So tonight, whether you’ve supported me in the past or not, I hope you will support me in the future, because I will bring back the American Dream.
With great humility, I am asking you to be EXCITED about the future of our country.
This week, the entire Republican Party has formally adopted an agenda for America’s renewal. It is a series of bold promises that we will swiftly implement when you give us a Republican House, a Republican Senate, and send me back to our beautiful White House just a few short months from now.
First, we must get economic relief to our citizens. Starting on Day One, we will drive down prices and Make America AFFORDABLE again!
Under this administration, groceries are up 50%, gasoline is up 60%, mortgage rates have quadrupled, and you can’t get the money anyway. Total household costs have increased an average of $28,000 per family.
Republicans have a plan to bring down prices, and bring them down fast. By slashing energy costs, we will in turn reduce the cost of transportation, manufacturing, and all household goods. We have more liquid gold under our feet than any other country—we as a nation will make a fortune with oil and gas.
Under the Trump Administration, just three and a half short years ago, we were Energy Independent, but soon we will be Energy DOMINANT and supply not only ourselves but the world.
Next, we will end the ridiculous waste of taxpayer dollars that is fueling the inflation crisis. And all of the trillions of dollars that are sitting there not yet spent, will be redirected for important projects like roads, bridges, dams, and we will not allow it to be spent on the meaningless Green New Scam.
I will END the Electric Vehicle Mandate on Day One — thereby saving the U.S. auto industry from complete obliteration, and saving U.S. customers thousands of dollars per car.
I will bring auto jobs back to our country, through the proper use of taxes, tariffs, and incentives, and will not allow massive auto manufacturing plants to be built in Mexico, China, or other countries, where they send the product back to the United States, and steal our jobs, creating a hopeless situation for our companies and autoworkers.
We have long been taken advantage of by other countries, often being considered our allies. We lose jobs and revenue, they gain everything, and wipe out our businesses. I stopped it four years ago, and I will stop it again. We will not let countries come in, take our jobs, and plunder our nation.
The way they will sell their product in America is to BUILD it in America, and ONLY in America. This will create massive jobs and wealth for our country.
At the center of our plan for economic relief are massive tax cuts for workers—and that includes NO TAX ON TIPS. That means if you are a restaurant worker, bartender, hospitality worker, caddy, barber, mover, driver, or anyone else who relies on tip income, your tips will be 100% YOURS.
I gave the biggest tax cut in history, bigger than the Reagan Tax Cuts, but I am going to lower taxes still further. By contrast, Democrats have promised to end the Trump Tax Cuts and impose a record-setting $5 trillion tax hike. I am going to LOWER taxes—Democrats are going to RAISE taxes. I am going to PROTECT Social Security and Medicare—Democrats are going to DESTROY Social Security and Medicare.
Under my plan, incomes will skyrocket, inflation will vanish, jobs will come roaring back, and the Middle Class will prosper like never before.
But no hope or dream we have for America can succeed unless we stop the illegal immigrant invasion at our Southern Border.
At the heart of the Republican platform is our pledge to end this border nightmare, and to fully restore the sacred and sovereign borders of the United States of America—on Day One.
Less than four years ago, I handed this administration the strongest border in American history. You can see that on the chart that saved my life. We ended all catch-and-release. Shut down asylum fraud. Stopped human trafficking, and forged historic agreements to keep illegal aliens on foreign soil. Under the Trump Administration, if you came in illegally, you were apprehended immediately and deported.
The current administration terminated every single one of those great Trump policies that I put in place to seal the border. They suspended wall construction, ended Remain in Mexico, cancelled our Safe Third agreements, demolished Title 42, implemented nationwide catch-and-release, and took 93 executive actions to throw open our border to the world.
The greatest invasion in history is taking place right here in our country—they are coming in from every corner of the earth, not just from South America, but from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East—they’re coming from everywhere, and this administration does nothing to stop them. They are coming from prisons and jails, from mental institutions and insane asylums, and terrorists at levels never seen before. Meanwhile, our crime rate is going UP, while crime statistics all over the world are plunging. That’s because they’re delivering their murderers, drug dealers, terrorists, and criminals of all shapes and forms, into the United States. We have become a dumping ground for the world, which is laughing at us. They think we’re stupid. They can’t believe what they’re getting away with, but getting away with it they are. In Venezuela, crime is down 72 percent. In El Salvador, murders are down 70 percent. The world’s criminals are coming here, to a town near you—and are being sent by their governments, because their governments are smarter than ours.
That is why, to keep our families safe, the Republican Platform promises to launch the largest deportation operation in the history of our country—even larger than that of President Dwight D. Eisenhower many years ago.
Just recently I spoke to the grieving mother of Jocelyn Nungaray, a precious 12-year-old girl from Houston who last month was tied up, assaulted, and strangled to death after walking to the convenience store, her body dumped near the side of the road in a shallow creek. Charged with Jocelyn’s heinous murder are two illegal aliens from Venezuela who came across our border, were in custody, and were then released into our country by the current administration.
I also met recently with the heartbroken mother and sister of Rachel Morin. Rachel was a 37-year-old mom of 5 who was brutally raped and murdered while out on a run. The monster responsible first killed another woman in El Salvador before he was let into America by this White House. He then attacked a 9-year-old girl and her mother in a home invasion in Los Angeles, before murdering Rachel in Maryland. Rachel’s mother will never be the same.
I’ve also met with the family of Laken Riley, the brilliant 22-year-old nursing student, top of her class, who was out for a jog on the campus of the University of Georgia when she was assaulted, beaten, and horrifically killed. Yet another American life stolen by a criminal alien set free by this administration.
Tonight, America, this is my vow: I will not let these killers and criminals into our country. I will keep our sons and daughters safe.
As we bring security to our streets, we will help bring stability to the world.
I was the first president in modern times to start NO NEW WARS. There was peace in Europe and the Middle East. Under President Bush, Russia invaded Georgia. Under President Obama, Russia took Crimea. Under the current administration, Russia is after all of Ukraine. Under President Trump, Russia took nothing.
We defeated 100 percent of ISIS in Syria and Iraq, something that was going to take five years, and I did it in two months. I stopped the missile launches from North Korea. Iran was weak, broke, and wanted to make a deal—they were not spending money on Hamas, Hezbollah or other carriers of terror, and Iran was never going to have a nuclear weapon. Now, they can have one within 90 days, and they have $300 billion dollars to spread terror across the region.
Our opponents inherited a world at peace and turned it into a planet of war.
It began to unravel with the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, the worst humiliation in the history of our country. 13 heroic U.S. servicemembers were tragically and needlessly killed, 45 others were horrifically wounded, and $85 billion dollars’ worth of military equipment was left behind, along with many American citizens.
Emboldened by that disaster, Russia invaded Ukraine. Israel endured the worst attack in its history. Now China is circling Taiwan, and Russian warships and nuclear submarines are operating 60 miles off our coasts in Cuba, and the media doesn’t want to talk about it.
And to the entire world, we want our hostages back—and they better be back before I assume office, or you will be paying a very big price.
With our victory in November, the years of war, weakness and chaos will be over.
We will replenish our military, and build an Iron Dome Missile Defense System to ensure that no enemy can strike our homeland—and this great Iron Dome will all be MADE IN THE USA.
We will unleash the power of American innovation—and as we do, we will soon be on the verge of finding the cures to cancer, Alzheimer’s, and many other diseases.
We will not have men playing in women’s sports.
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 D.C. We will be proud of our capital again.
America is on the cusp of a new Golden Age, but we must have the courage to seize it.
Just a few short days ago, my journey with you nearly ended. And yet here we are tonight, all gathered together, talking about the future, promise, and renewal of America. We live in a world of miracles.
None of us knows God’s plan, or where life’s adventure will take us. But if the events of last Saturday make anything clear, it is that every single moment we have on earth is a gift from God. We have to make the most of every day for the people and country we love.
The attacker in Pennsylvania wanted to stop our movement—but the truth is, this movement has never been about me, it has always been about YOU. It has always been about the hardworking, patriotic citizens of America.
For too long, our nation has settled for too little. You have been told to lower your expectations and to accept less for your families.
I am here tonight with the opposite message: Your expectations are not big enough. It is time to start expecting and demanding the best leadership in the world, leadership that is bold, dynamic, relentless, and fearless.
We are Americans. Ambition is our heritage. Greatness is our birthright.
But as long as our energies are spent fighting each other, our destiny will remain out of reach. We must instead take that energy and use it to realize our country’s true potential—and write our own thrilling chapter of the American Story.
It is a story of love, sacrifice, success, and unmatched devotion.
Our American Ancestors crossed the Delaware, survived the icy winters at Valley Forge and defeated a mighty empire to establish our cherished republic.
They pushed thousands of miles across a dangerous frontier, taming the wilderness to build a life and a magnificent home. They packed their families into covered wagons, trekked across hazardous trails, scaled towering mountains, and braved rivers and rapids to stake their claim on the wide open Frontier.
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.
No challenge was too much. No hardship was too great. No enemy was too fierce. Together, these patriots soldiered on, they endured and they prevailed—because they had faith in each other, faith in their country, and above all, faith in their God.
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, pledging allegiance to one great and beautiful American flag.
Tonight, I ask for your partnership, for your support, and I am humbly asking for your vote. Every day, I will strive to honor the trust you have placed in me, and I will never let you down.
To all of the forgotten men and women who have been neglected, abandoned, and left behind, you will be forgotten no longer. We will press forward, and together, we will WIN, WIN, WIN.
Nothing will sway us. Nothing will slow us. And no one will stop us.
No matter what dangers come our way, no matter what obstacles lie in our path, we will keep striving toward our shared and glorious destiny—and WE WILL NOT FAIL.
Together, we will SAVE THIS COUNTRY, we will restore the Republic, and we will usher in the rich and wonderful tomorrows that our people truly deserve.”
