Trump vows to 'unite the country' after being shot

Former president also chooses JD Vance as his running mate

- RACHEL SHARP, JUSTIN ROHRLICH

Donald Trump was formally nominated for president at yesterday’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, less than two days after an assassination attempt on the former president. Their vote makes it official that Mr Trump, who has long been the presumptive nominee, will lead the GOP in a third consecutive election.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump chose JD Vance as his running mate yesterday, picking a onetime critic who became a loyal ally. Mr Vance, 39, rose to national fame with the 2016 publication of his memoir, Hillbilly Ele . He was elected to the Senate in 2022 and has become one of the staunchest champions of the former president’s “Make America Great Again” agenda, particularly on trade, foreign policy and immigration.

In a post on his Truth Social network Mr Trump said: “After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio.”

Earlier yesterday Mr Trump had said that he was “supposed to be dead”, as he spoke out about the split-second moment that saved his life when a would-be assassin opened fire during a campaign rally at the weekend.

In one of his first interviews since the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, the former president described his survival as a “miracle” and claimed that it had given him a new perspective heading into the Republican National Convention to “unite the country”.

“The doctor at the hospital said he never saw anything like this, he called it a miracle,” Mr Trump told the New York Post while traveling to the event in Milwaukee. “I’m not supposed to be here, I’m supposed to be dead. I’m supposed to be dead.”

He added that turning his head to read a chart on immigration off the jumbotron saved his life.