Donald Trump has described how he narrowly survived an attempt on his life, telling a rapt audience at the Republican National Convention in his first speech since the attack that he was only there "by the grace of almighty God".
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"I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me really, really hard on my right ear," he said during a 14-minute account, a thick bandage still covering his ear.
"I said to myself, 'Wow, what was that? It can only be a bullet'."
When he told the Milwaukee crowd on Thursday that he was "not supposed to be here", the delegates chanted back, "Yes you are!"
The former president struck an unusually conciliatory tone during the speech's opening moments, when he formally accepted the Republican presidential nomination for the November 5 election.
"I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America," he said, in a marked shift in tenor for the typically bellicose Trump.
But he swiftly pivoted to well-worn attacks on the Biden administration, which he said was "destroying" the country.
He claimed without evidence that his criminal indictments were part of a Democratic conspiracy, predicted President Joe Biden, his Democratic rival, would usher in "World War Three", and described what he called an "invasion" of migrants over the southern border.
In the meandering remarks that followed - at 90-plus minutes the longest convention speech in history - Trump, 78, abandoned any message of unity in favour of his usual bombast and grievance, repeating his false claim that Democrats stole the 2020 election.
The speech capped a four-day event during which he was greeted with adulation by a party now almost entirely in his thrall.
In a statement, Biden campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon said Trump had presented only problems, not solutions.
"It was Donald Trump who destroyed our economy, ripped away rights, and failed middle-class families," she said.
"Now he pursues the presidency with an even more extreme vision for where he wants to take this country."
Biden, meanwhile, was "soul searching" about whether to drop out of the race, a source said, after senior party figures, congressional allies and major donors warned him he could not win following a halting debate performance on June 27.
Biden, 81, was isolating at his Delaware home after contracting COVID-19.
Trump devoted much of his speech to attacking migrants, a theme that has always animated his presidential campaigns.
"They're coming from prisons, they're coming from jails, they're coming from mental institutions and insane asylums," he said, before citing several Americans who were murdered by suspects in the country illegally.
There is no evidence foreign governments are intentionally sending such people to the US, and academic studies show immigrants do not commit crime at a higher rate than native-born Americans.
After Trump concluded, his family and that of his running mate, senator JD Vance, walked on stage as balloons dropped from the ceiling.
Trump's wife, Melania, who is rarely seen on the campaign trail, joined him for the first time this week.
Some of the eclectic group of speakers - including conservative commentator Tucker Carlson and Trump's son Eric - employed divisive language in denouncing the Biden administration.
With his even-tighter grip on Republicans, Trump will be in a much stronger position than in his 2017-2021 term to enact his agenda if he wins the election.
Biden has faced increasing pressure from party heavyweights to cede his position.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is among those who have told him he cannot win, according to a White House source familiar with the matter.
After weeks of insisting he will remain in the race, Biden is taking calls to step aside seriously, and multiple Democratic officials think an exit is a matter of time, sources say.
Democratic leaders in the House and Senate - Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer - have told Biden he will not only lose the White House but also endanger their effort to win back the House, according to multiple news outlets.
Montana senator Jon Tester on Thursday became the 21st congressional Democrat and the second senator to publicly call on Biden to drop out.
Australian Associated Press
