Trump arrives in Milwaukee for Republican convention

Former US President Donald Trump has arrived in Wisconsin for the Republican National Convention, a day after surviving an assassination attempt.

The party conference in Milwaukee is going ahead as planned despite Saturday evening’s shooting at a rally in Pennsylvania, in which Trump was shot in the ear.

Trump posted on social media that he had considered delaying his trip by two days, “but have just decided that I cannot allow a ‘shooter,’ or potential assassin, to force change to scheduling, or anything else”.

The attack on Trump has put a heightened focus on safety and security of the event, which begins on Monday at the arena that is home to the NBA Milwaukee Bucks basketball team.

But Audrey Gibson-Cicchino, RNC coordinator for the US Secret Service, said during a Sunday afternoon news conference in Milwaukee that there would be no changes to the security plan.

Some 50,000 people are expected to attend the four-day jamboree of pageantry, politics and policy as the party makes its case to voters ahead of November’s general election.

Once every four years each of the two main US parties hosts a convention to formally select their respective presidential candidates and prepare for the final stretch of campaigning.

The conferences include high-profile speakers, as well as a primetime speech from the presidential candidates themselves.

During the convention, the delegates from each state pledge their support to the candidate of their choice and approve a platform.

It is merely a formality for Trump as the party’s presumptive nominee because he won 2,265 delegates in the primaries, which is enough for the nomination.

The Democrats will hold their convention next month in Chicago.

Trump is not expected to speak until Thursday night.

One of the biggest moments of the conference will be when he unveils his vice-presidential candidate.

But as the dust settles from the assassination attempt, it is unclear when Trump will announce who he has chosen as his running mate, or when he or she will speak.

Donald Trump Jr, the former president’s son, is expected to speak on Wednesday.

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, one of Trump’s fiercest rivals during the Republican primary, was originally expected to skip the RNC.

But after the assassination attempt, it was reported that she will now not only attend but speak at the conference.

Republican firebrands Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia congresswoman, and Arizona Republican Kari Lake are reportedly also going to give speeches.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Dana White, the chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Teamsters union general president Sean O’Brien are also among the expected speakers.

RNC co-chair Lara Trump, the daughter-in-law of the former president, said celebrities are among this year’s speakers.

Amber Rose, model, reality star and former girlfriend of Kanye West, is expected address the crowd.

But former stalwarts of the Republican party establishment, such George W Bush, Mike Pence and Mitt Romney, are not on the guest list.

Former First Lady Melania Trump, who rarely makes public appearances, will attend the convention, according to US media.

Mrs Trump did not attend the 27 June debate between President Joe Biden and Trump. Nor did she attend her husband’s hush-money trial earlier this year.

While the former first lady has held Republican fundraisers in the past year, this would be her first major appearance of this election cycle.