With A Bandaged Ear, Trump Makes First Public Appearance Since Assassination Attempt

MILWAUKEE — Former President Donald Trump appeared for the first time in public since the attempt on his life two days ago, showing up on stage unannounced at the Republican National Convention with a white bandage over his right ear.

Trump took the stage to raucous applause from the 2,500 delegates and other attendees who made him their presidential nominee for a third time Monday, as country singer Lee Greenwood performed a live rendition of “Good Bless the USA,” a staple of Trump’s rallies and the Make America Great Again movement.

Trump did not address the crowd. He clapped and appeared stoic as they cheered. He mouthed, “Thank you.” When Greenwood was done, the audience chanted, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” — a nod to Trump’s raised fist after a gunman tried to kill him at a campaign rally Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Trump sat for the rest of the program alongside close allies, including his new running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, ex-Fox News host Tucker Carlson, and Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.

Before Trump’s appearance, the attempt on his life was more of a footnote than a focus of the RNC convention, which opened Monday in Milwaukee with an explosion of sequins, cowboy boots, pointy stilettos and MAGA everything. There were scattered sartorial nods to the instantly historic photo of Secret Service agents ushering Trump off stage with his fist pumped and an American flag in the background.

“Impeached. Arrested. Convicted. Shot. Still standing,” read one T-shirt with the image — worn by a guy also sporting a gold bust of Trump in a tiny red MAGA hat on a chain around his neck. Another woman had the photo pressed onto an enormous red satin hoop skirt.

Night one’s speakers praised Trump for