Former rivals Haley, DeSantis back Trump in show of unity

Milwaukee, July 17

Donald Trump’s former leading rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, offered full-throated endorsements of his candidacy at the party’s convention, a display of unity three days after Trump survived an assassination attempt.

Indian-American Haley, who had described Trump as unelectable and unfit for office during her campaign, nevertheless urged her supporters to vote for him over Democratic President Joe Biden “for the sake of our nation.”

“You don’t have to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him,” the former UN ambassador and South Carolina governor said, after taking the stage to a mixture of cheers and boos.

DeSantis, the conservative Florida governor whose campaign sputtered early in the year, received a warm welcome from the crowd as he attacked Biden as too old for the job.

Trump smiled and applauded from his box in the arena, where he sat alongside the running mate whose selection he unveiled on Monday, US Senator JD Vance, himself a former fierce Trump critic who has become a staunch supporter.

Many of the Tuesday evening’s speeches — centered on the theme of law and order — were infused with Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric, with speakers angrily denouncing Biden’s southern border policies as putting the country’s security at risk.

Trump has vowed to crack down on illegal immigration and pledged to launch the largest deportation effort in US history. — Reuters

PRESIDENT BIDEN IS ‘ALL IN’

In his first campaign speech since the assassination attempt, President Joe Biden told Black voters in Las Vegas that he was “all in” for his reelection campaign, again dismissing calls from some Democrats to step aside. He said he was glad Trump had not been seriously injured but assailed his record in office. Biden has called for less heated rhetoric. Reuters

Republicans shift their gaze to national security

The third day of the Republican National Convention will kick off on Wednesday with Republicans — led by the newly nominated Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance of Ohio — shifting their focus to issues of national security and foreign policy. Republicans are expected to focus on Democratic President Joe Biden’s handling of the ongoing crises in Europe and the Middle East. AP