SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
To the Republican National Convention, which wraps up tonight in Wisconsin - former President Donald Trump will accept his party's nomination for president, and he is expected to deliver a deeply personal message, according to the campaign, that will be shaped by the assassination attempt on his life over the weekend. Joining us now is NPR's Sarah McCammon. Hey, Sarah.
SARAH MCCAMMON, BYLINE: Hi, Scott.
DETROW: What are we expecting to hear from Trump tonight?
MCCAMMON: You know, Trump has been on the floor each evening this week greeting his supporters. But tonight, he will address the full convention and formally accept the Republican Party's nomination. Now, one thing we've seen this week is that the base is fully behind him. You know, several of his former rivals for the nomination spoke on his behalf, and there's just been a lot of enthusiasm in the room.
But one question is how much Trump will reach out to undecided or swing voters beyond his base. You know, Michael Austin is a delegate from Kansas, and he told me earlier he thinks Trump should focus on the bread-and-butter issues that appeal to voters across the spectrum.
MICHAEL AUSTIN: We all want it to be cheaper when we go to our grocery store. We want it to be cheaper when we put gas in our car. As long as he can stick on those economic issues, things that all Americans are reeling from, I think that he'll be very successful in reaching out.
MCCAMMON: And that's important because, as you know, Scott, the purpose of a party convention is not just rallying the base, but also getting ready for the general election.
DETROW: Right. Like you said, we've been seeing Trump each night. We've heard a little bit of him here and there, but this will be the first major speech since that assassination attempt.
MCCAMMON: Right.
DETROW: How have people at the convention been talking about that?
MCCAMMON: Well, of course, it is on people's minds. Each night that Trump has walked onto the convention floor, he's been wearing a bandage on his ear. And for Trump supporters who see him as a fighter and are drawn to that aspect of his personality and for some who even see him as somehow divinely chosen to lead, something you hear from Trump supporters sometimes, this has just reinforced those ideas. I talked earlier with Sharon Cassidy, a delegate from Guam, and here's what she told me.
SHARON CASSIDY: To have a president that actually gets wounded on Saturday and then shows up on Monday and has been every day of our convention, he's resilient, and he's a man that is a leader. He's just - he's strong, and he's what we need right now.
MCCAMMON: This was a very close call that Trump survived. He came here as scheduled. And even some of his critics acknowledge that he's come through this event looking, as Sharon Cassidy just said, looking strong. Charlie Sykes is a conservative commentator and a longtime Trump critic. He brought this up last night at a forum here in Milwaukee for Never Trump conservatives.
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CHARLIE SYKES: Don't downplay it. Don't look away from it. It is perhaps the defining moment of the 2024 election. And for Donald Trump, it means that he can be a hero and a martyr at the same time.
MCCAMMON: Now, this has also been a big theme on the convention floor. We've heard delegates chanting, fight, fight, fight. Multiple speakers have brought it up. And it's also arguably humanized Trump, to some degree. You know, his granddaughter Kai made a very personal speech last night where she talked about her shock at what happened to her grandfather. And she also said she sees a side of him that people don't often see.
DETROW: This is the last night. You've been taking in the convention each night, talking to people. What are your takeaways?
MCCAMMON: It is hard not to notice just how overwhelmingly Trump now dominates the Republican Party. His critics have been pretty much entirely absent, including some high-profile Republicans like former Vice President Mike Pence. You know, we both covered the 2016 campaign, Scott, and overall, the energy at this convention feels different to me.
DETROW: Yeah.
MCCAMMON: Delegates just seem to be feeling very positive, very confident.
DETROW: It would have been hard to predict this much unity around Donald Trump at that point. That's NPR...
MCCAMMON: Indeed.
DETROW: ...Political correspondent Sarah McCammon. Thanks, Sarah.
MCCAMMON: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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