RNC 2024 Day 4 updates: Trump pitches unity, but revives old grievances

Trump leaned into his usual talking points during his RNC speech.

ByMeredith Deliso, Ivan Pereira, Alexandra Hutzler, Chris Boccia, and Tal Axelrod
Last Updated: July 19, 2024, 12:29 AM EDT

On the fourth and final day of the Republican National Convention, former President Donald Trump gave a highly anticipated speech, which he said beforehand would call for unity following his assassination attempt.

However in his first speech since the incident, Trump leaned into his usual talking points, slamming President Joe Biden, Democrats and other critics on a wide variety of issues from the economy, immigration and crime.

For over an hour, Trump went off script much to the crowd's delight. The former president told them he was grateful for their support after his brush with death but argued that the country needed to be fixed due to Biden's policies.

The night also included wild speeches from guests such as Hulk Hogan and Eric Trump, who echoed some of the former president's rhetoric bashing Biden and the Democrats.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing.
Jul 18, 2024, 10:25 PM EDT

Senator Kid Rock?

In 2018, Kid Rock teased a run for Senate in Michigan as a Republican — even creating a website for his campaign. Ultimately, though, he didn't officially jump in the race.

—538's Nathaniel Rakich

Jul 18, 2024, 10:24 PM EDT

Campaign video mocks Biden, celebrates Trump's accomplishments

The Trump campaign played a nearly seven-minute video highlighting Trump's career and accomplishments in office.

The video also contained several images of Biden looking upset as it talked about his policies. The video also contained edited clips of Biden stumbling and a mock meeting showing Army officials watch footage from the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal.

Jul 18, 2024, 10:21 PM EDT

Kid Rock performs

Musician Kid Rock performs on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 18, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Leon Neal/Getty Images

Kid Rock took to the stage ahead of Trump's speech, throwing in chants of "Fight!" and "Trump!" during the song "American Bad A**."

Jul 18, 2024, 10:14 PM EDT

Message of unity and a gentler Trump may be broadly appealing

Throughout this convention, speakers have leaned into framing Trump in a softer light than we’ve seen before. Tonight, for example, Tucker Carlson highlighted the former president’s calls for unity after the assassination attempt against him. “He turned down the most obvious opportunity in politics to inflame the nation after being shot,” Carlson said. “He did his best to bring the country together.”

And we’ve heard Trump plans to strike that tone in his speech tonight. A message of unity may be part of an attempt to appeal to swing voters. Despite how polarized Americans have become, Americans often say they don’t like how divided we are, and would prefer our political climate to include more compromise and cooperation. Recent polls have shown that a majority say “most Americans want the same things out of life,“ that “partisan conflicts receive too much attention these days,“, that “compromise and common ground should be the goal for political leaders,“ and that would like their elected officials to work with members across the aisle, even when it means compromising on partisan values.

Though not all of the speakers have embraced this messaging (Eric Trump’s speech definitely leaned into more divisive rhetoric just now), there has been a consistent effort to newly portray Trump as a unifying force who is above the political fray, which would appeal to many voters who are exhausted by the divisive political climate.

—538's Kaleigh Rogers