RNC 2024 Day 4 updates: Trump pitches unity, but revives old grievances in longest acceptance speech in history
Trump leaned into his usual talking points during his RNC speech.
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:
Trump touches on Iron Dome plan
Trump said he wants to build a "great Iron Dome" as part of his defense plan.
Official GOP policy calls for an American-built national missile defense system similar to Israel's Iron Dome -- something the military hasn't asked for and experts say could have limited utility for the United States.
Here's what to know about the plan.
Trump's unity message doesn't last long into speech
Trump has gone off script pushing false claims about the 2020 election and immigrants stealing jobs.
He used the racist phrase "China virus" which has been used to push anti-Asian hate, and called about "partisan witch hunts" and "Crazy Nancy" Pelosi.
There was a six-minute rant where the teleprompter froze and several other times where it scrolled trying to catch where he was going.
Despite saying himself he wouldn't say the name "Biden," he has used it several times.
-ABC News' Rachel Scott
That immigration graphic? It mischaracterizes data when Trump left office
If you’re able to look at the immigration chart that Trump credits with saving his life, you’ll see a big red arrow that points to April 2020, when immigrant encounters at the southwest border dipped to 17,110.
Words next to the arrow read, "Trump leaves office. Lowest illegal immigration in recorded history."
But the arrow points to a decline in immigration encounters at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, when migration overall significantly dropped as nations imposed lockdowns. Trump left office nine months later, when Biden took over Jan. 20, 2021. Recorded encounters at the southwest border rose each month after April 2020, reaching 73,990 in December, Trump’s last full month in office.
The steady rise in border encounters in Trump’s last year reflects the reality that the Migrant Protection Protocols (aka "Remain in Mexico") and other border policies were not as effective in reducing irregular migration, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.
The Remain in Mexico program sent some migrants seeking asylum to Mexico to await their immigration court proceedings.
The chart is also wrong about April 2020 having the lowest illegal immigration in recorded history.
Looking at yearly totals dating to 1925, no year in Trump’s tenure had the lowest number of encounters in history. The lowest yearly total was 10,319 in 1934, when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president, CBP data shows. Total illegal immigration during Trump’s administration was higher than under each of former President Barack Obama’s terms, which ran from January 2009 to January 2017.
—PolitiFact’s Maria Ramirez-Uribe
Fact check: Trump on 'catch and release'
While discussing the border and immigration, Trump said his administration "ended all catch-and-release."
Though Trump attempted to end the catch-and-release practice under his presidency, migrants were more likely to be “released” through this process under Trump compared to Biden, according to the libertarian Cato Institute. The Cato analysis found that Biden’s immigration authorities released 48.6% of those apprehended at the border, while the Trump administration released 52.2% over roughly a two-year period.
"Of course, the absolute numbers of releases have been higher under President Biden, but that reflects much higher arrivals, not any meaningful change in policy," Cato's David J. Bier wrote.