Donald Trump becomes official Republican presidential nominee

Donald Trump has secured enough votes at the Republican National Convention (RNC) to be declared the party's official presidential nominee, just days after surviving an assassination attempt.

At the convention in Milwaukee, the former president was confirmed as the Republican candidate for the upcoming November 5 election. The 78-year-old announced Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate on his social media platform, Truth Social, Caliber.Az reports citing the foreign media.

Trump's stronghold over the party was reaffirmed with scenes of celebration erupting in the convention hall following his nomination. Meanwhile, protests against him took place outside the venue. The nomination comes after an assassination attempt on Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, where authorities identified the gunman as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.

Mr. Trump, who was struck on the ear during the attack, has been the presumptive nominee for months, having easily secured a majority of convention delegates earlier in the year, outpacing rivals like South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. However, he only officially became the party's standard-bearer after roll call, where delegates cast their votes for him.

Eric Trump announced the delegates from Florida, putting the former president over the threshold. Each state's leader took turns announcing their results, formally positioning Mr. Trump to challenge the Democratic candidate, likely incumbent Joe Biden, for the White House later this year.

Most delegates were already committed to supporting Mr. Trump, with at least 2,243 out of roughly 2,400 known to back him before the four-day RNC began. Although at least 150 delegates, including entire delegations from Montana, New Mexico, and South Dakota, were technically "unbound," many had already confirmed their intention to vote for Mr. Trump prior to the convention.

Trump, 78, was holding a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania - a key state in the November 5 election - when shots rang out, hitting his right ear and leaving his face streaked with blood. His campaign said he was doing well.

"That reality is just setting in," Trump told the Washington Examiner on July 14. "I rarely look away from the crowd. Had I not done that in that moment, well, we would not be talking today, would we?"

One person in the crowd was killed and two others wounded before Secret Service agents fatally shot the suspect.

Trump is due to accept his party's formal nomination at the Republican National Convention with a speech on July 18. He pumped his fist in the air several times as he descended the stairs from his plane after arriving in Milwaukee.

"This is a chance to bring the whole country, even the whole world, together. The speech will be a lot different, a lot different than it would've been two days ago," Trump told the Washington Examiner.