Donald Trump ended the suspense by announcing Monday that he had chosen Senator JD Vance to be his vice president, on the first day of a convention disrupted by the attempted assassination of the former Republican president.
“I have determined that the person best qualified to serve as Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the great State of Ohio.”the Republican said on his network, Truth Social.
A former military man and best-selling author, this 39-year-old elected official with an eclectic profile has constantly defended in Congress the causes dear to the former businessman, such as the fight against immigration and the defense of economic protectionism.
He will deliver a speech on Wednesday evening.
Thousands of police officers
The announcement of the « ticket » Trump-Vance is the first highlight of an already historic convention: the tens of thousands of Republicans gathered in Milwaukee nearly lost their hero, targeted by gunfire during an outdoor rally on Saturday.
Thousands of police officers are deployed on the streets of the former industrial city, under high tension. “If they’re not anxious, then neither am I.”Tim Hawkins, 57, who came from the other side of the country, told AFP.
The venue chosen for the convention is a huge sports complex, the walls of which are covered with large photographs glorifying the 45th president of the United States, who also wants to be the 47th.
The major themes of the convention will be purchasing power, immigration, crime and the security guaranteed by a strong America.
But the high point of this institutional and festive event will come on Thursday, when Donald Trump will be designated the official Republican candidate for the election.
His coronation is no longer in doubt, formalized during a spectacular evening, punctuated by the release of 100,000 red, white and blue balloons.
The septuagenarian Republican keeps his schedule extremely discreet, for security reasons.
“Prime-time evenings”
Because the image that everyone has in mind, and which has gone around the world, is that of a Donald Trump with a bloody ear, his fist raised, hastily evacuated by his bodyguards from a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
The attack shocked an increasingly polarized American society, angering the most radical Trump activists, who openly accuse Democrats of responsibility.
With more than 50,000 participants, the event already promised to be an ultra-secure event.
Entire areas of the city center are fenced off by large metal fences and patrolled by agents of the Secret Service, the elite police force that has come under heavy criticism for failing to adequately protect Donald Trump during his outdoor rally on Saturday.
But the dense program of the convention is maintained. “Apart from increased security measures outside the perimeter, there will not be a single change to the schedule.”David Bossie, a close friend of Donald Trump who is co-chairing the convention, told AFP.
“This is a four-night primetime television production that we are extremely proud of, and that we are not going to change because of a tragic event.”he adds.
Shaking up his schedule, President Joe Biden worked to ease tensions during this weekend that will mark the country.
“There is no place for this kind of violence in America”the 81-year-old Democrat said, before calling on the nation to “join”.
The attack on Donald Trump could be electorally beneficial for the Republican, experts say.
They note in contrast how Joe Biden is currently weakened by questions about his mental acuity, with elected officials from his own party calling on him to step down.
For Martin Kutlzer, a Milwaukee resident and Republican sympathizer, there is no doubt: the race for the White House is “folded”.
“Donald Trump will win, because we always tend to rally around those who have been affected”the sixty-year-old proudly proclaims to AFP.
