Trump Sets New Record With His Acceptance Speech

Former president spoke for 95 minutes
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 18, 2024 11:19 PM CDT
Trump Sets New Record With His Acceptance Speech
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks during the Republican National Convention Thursday, July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee.   (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Donald Trump accepted his party's presidential nomination for the third time on Thursday and gave a speech written in the days after the attempt on his life. His was the longest televised presidential acceptance speech ever, at one hour and 33 minutes, ending at 11:05pm CT. The previous record belonged to Trump; he set it in 2016 with a 75-minute speech. With his ear still bandaged, Trump was joined on stage by the firefighter's uniform that belonged to Corey Comperatore, who was killed at the Saturday rally. Trump touched on topics ranging from COVID and his classified-documents case to inflation and the border and went off-script repeatedly. Standout lines:

  • "Four months from now we will have an incredible victory and we will begin the four greatest years in the history of our country. ... 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."

  • "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, tell us what happened, please, and therefore, I'll tell you exactly what happened, and you'll never hear it from me a second time, because it's actually too painful to tell."
  • "I heard a whizzing sound and felt something hit me really really hard on my right ear. ... I immediately knew it was very serious, that we were under attack. ... Bullets were continuing to fly and brave Secret Service agents rushed to the stage ... and pounced on top of me so I would be protected. 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 that very last instant ... I would not be here tonight."
  • "Nobody [in the crowd] ran and by not stampeding many lives were saved. They knew I was in very serious trouble and thought actually most did that I was dead. They knew it was a shot to the head and they saw the blood. ... The ears are the bloodiest part, they bleed more than any other part of the body, the doctors told me. ... This beautiful crowd they 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."

  • "I'm here tonight to lay out a vision for the whole nation. ... Together we will lead America to new heights of greatness like the world has never seen before."
  • "It's time for a change. This administration can't come close to solving the problems we are facing. They aren't fierce, except when it comes to cheating on elections."
  • "I will end our illegal immigration crisis by closing our border and building our wall. ... We have to stop the invasion into our country that is killing hundreds of thousands of people a year. I will end every single international crisis that the current administration has created," specifying Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Gaza.
  • "If you took the 10 worst presidents of the United States and added it up they would not have done the damage that Biden has done."
  • "I will bring back the American dream. You don't even hear about the American dream anymore. With great humility I am asking you to be excited about our future, be excited."
  • Trump said he 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% 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."
  • "With our victory in November, our years of war and chaos would be over. ... I could stop wars with just a telephone call."
  • "America is on the cusp of a new Golden Age, but we must have the courage to seize it ... we have to produce massive amounts of energy if we're going to produce the new ... AI needs tremendous, literally twice the energy that's available now in our country, can you imagine?"

story continues below

  • "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 a total renewal of a thing we love very much, it's called 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 for the country that we love."
  • "For too long our nation 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 ... as long as our energies are spent fighting each other our destiny will remain out of reach and that's not acceptable."
(More Donald Trump 2024 stories.)

Get breaking news in your inbox.
What you need to know, as soon as we know it.
Sign up
Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X