One by one, Donald Trump’s defeated rivals for the 2024 Republican nomination took the stage to praise him at the party’s convention on Tuesday night.
From his perch just above the stage, Trump occasionally smiled as he watched former rivals Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy voice their full support for his candidacy.
If there was any doubt about whether this was Trump’s party, Tuesday’s show erased it.
“I’ll start by making one thing clear: Donald Trump has my strong support, period,” said Ms Haley, the former UN ambassador who launched her biggest challenge to Trump earlier this year.
She said Trump asked her to speak at the event in Milwaukee in the name of “unity.”
“For the good of the country, we must stand with Donald Trump,” she told the crowd.
Ms Haley said in May that she would vote for the former president, but her keynote speech on Tuesday was her most direct endorsement of the Republican candidate.
And when she announced her endorsement, Trump stood up and applauded.
However, Ms Haley’s appearance was not welcomed by everyone. There was a noticeable suspense when she admitted that she and Mr Trump had disagreements.
Some Republicans struggled to forgive her for waging an aggressive campaign against their favored candidate. Late in the race, she questioned whether Trump had the mental stamina to be president.
As she stepped onto the podium, a few boos rang out, but they were quickly drowned out by cheers and applause.
“She deserves it,” said Gregory Switzer, a conservative activist from Texas.
“She stayed in that race much longer than she needed to and prolonged the inevitable,” said Matt Bumela, a delegate from Washington state who predicted boos. “And said negative things about Trump right up until the very end.”
Ms. Haley notably contrasted with Trump by calling on the United States to continue supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia.
When she later announced she would vote for him in November, she said the former president would be “wise to reach out to the millions of people who voted for me”.
On Tuesday night, she told her supporters who may still be undecided: “You don’t have to agree with Trump 100% to vote for him — trust me.”
“Tonight is our night of unity,” said New Hampshire Sen. William Gannon, who served as Haley’s delegate. He believes Trump made the right choice in inviting her to speak.
“I want to win the national election,” he said. “It was a smart move to bring her in.”
The third-place finisher in the primary, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, received a much warmer welcome from the crowd.
He has addressed a number of conservative social issues, including diversity initiatives, which he calls “indoctrination.”
He urged the crowd to back Trump — even though they had firmly backed their current candidate. “We can’t let him down, and we can’t let America down,” DeSantis said.
He also criticized Mr Biden’s age, an issue that is currently roiling the Democratic Party. “We need a commander in chief who can lead 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” he said.
Daniel Willis, the 25-year-old chairman of the Delaware Young Republicans, said Mr DeSantis and Ms Haley had done more than necessary “to bridge the gap” with Trump supporters.
The rest of the night focused on common Republican campaign points, such as border crossings, crime and a shared commitment to defeating Mr. Biden.
Ted Cruz, a US senator from Texas, said there had been a “literal invasion” of the United States. Dr Ben Carson, who served in Trump’s cabinet, accused Democrats of “tearing up the Constitution”.
Trump himself led a standing ovation for Madeline Brame, a woman whose son was killed in New York in 2018 and has since called for tougher policies on crime.
Below, delegates said they were ready to move past the party’s internal divisions in the primaries and instead focus the party’s energy on President Biden.
“At the end of the day,” said Georgia delegate Pam Lightsey, “we’re all Republicans.”
