RNC 2024 Day 2 updates: Trump rivals take center stage along with divine intervention

The theme of Tuesday's session is "Make America Safe Again."

ByMeredith Deliso, Ivan Pereira, Tal Axelrod, Chris Boccia, and Alexandra Hutzler
Last Updated: July 16, 2024, 11:35 PM EDT

The second day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee ended Tuesday with appearances from some of former President Donald Trump's former rivals: former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy -- all calling for Republican Party unity.

They were joined by some of Trump's longest allies including Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Ben Carson in bashing the Democrats over what they claimed were harmful and failed policies.

The program focused on law and order with a theme of making the country "safe again."

Trump, with a bandage on his ear, made an appearance again Tuesday evening -- just days after he was wounded in an assassination attempt at one of his rallies in Pennsylvania over the weekend. Several speakers touched on that God spared Trump in the shooting, saving him for a divine plan for the presidency.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing:
Jul 16, 2024, 10:10 AM EDT

Nikki Haley among tonight's featured speakers as GOP stresses 'unity'

Following a memorable day with former President Donald Trump selecting Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate, the convention is off to a rolling start.
Tuesday’s theme is "Make America Safe Again" and speakers will focus on crime, fentanyl, and illegal immigration.

As the Trump campaign tries to capitalize on Trump's new message of "unity," Nikki Haley, Trump’s former bitter primary rival, will speak. Originally, Haley was not offered a slot, but was added the day after the attempted assassination> of Trump Saturday at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

--ABC's Kelsey Walsh

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