--- description: The former President emerged with a bandage over his ear to chants of ‘fight, fight, fight,’ energizing Republicans at the party convention. title: RNC: Trump Makes First Appearance With Bandaged Ear image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0b596e36e5227ae7/698a58bfd07533c0b6e70f9b/trump-rnc-appearance-bandage.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Donald Trump](/tag/donald-trump/) ## Donald Trump Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Trump Energizes Republicans at Convention With First Public Appearance After Shooting by [Brian Bennett](/author/brian-bennett/) and [Eric Cortellessa](/author/eric-cortellessa/) Updated: Jan 19, 2026 5:25 PM CUTPublished: Jul 16, 2024 2:25 AM CUT  Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday, July 15, 2024. Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday, July 15, 2024.Evan Vucci—AP by [Brian Bennett](/author/brian-bennett/) and [Eric Cortellessa](/author/eric-cortellessa/) Updated: Jan 19, 2026 5:25 PM CUTPublished: Jul 16, 2024 2:25 AM CUT Former President Donald Trump slowly walked through the crowd and into a box at the Republican National Convention on Monday, his first publicappearance since a bullet sliced through his ear during an [assassination attempt](https://time.com/6998302/trump-rally-shooting-2/ "undefined"). It was a dramatic televisual spectacle:His ear was covered by a neatly folded white bandage. He pumped his fist and waved, as Lee Greenwood sang “God Bless the USA.” The crowd in Milwaukee chanted “we love Trump” and “fight, fight, fight,” echoing Trump’s shout to his supporters when Secret Service agents hustled him off the stage on Saturday. Trump walked in with his newly-announced running mate, [Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio](https://time.com/6998873/why-trump-chose-j-d-vance-for-vice-president/ "undefined"). The two sat together in the hall as several speakers described their economic struggles and why they are supporting Trump’s campaign. The [image from Saturday](https://time.com/6998896/behind-the-cover-interview-evan-vucci-trump-photorgraph/ "undefined") of Trump standing and raising his fist moments after the shooting has energized the GOP convention and given Trump’s candidacy a fresh wave of momentum heading toward the November elections. Trump’s appearance came just hours after GOP convention delegates officially voted to name him the party’s nominee for President, and on the same day he scored a major legal victory when U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon [dismissed](https://time.com/6998605/donald-trump-classified-documents-case-dismissed/ "undefined") the federal classified documents case against him. “Even in the most perilous moment, his instinct was to stand and to fight,” South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem told the convention hall before Trump came out. “Donald J. Trump is our man in the arena.” The attempt on Trump’s life alarmed a nation already riven by political discord. It prompted calls from President Biden and others for the divisive political rhetoric to be cooled down, a plea that has largely been ignored by speakers during the first day of the convention. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6998981/trump-first-appearance-shooting-bandage-republican-convention/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6998981/trump-first-appearance-shooting-bandage-republican-convention/"},"headline":"Trump Energizes Republicans at Convention With First Public Appearance After Shooting","datePublished":"2024-07-16T02:25:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-01-19T17:25:39.000Z","description":"The former President emerged at the RNC with a bandage over his ear to chants of \"fight, fight, fight.\"","url":"https://time.com/6998981/trump-first-appearance-shooting-bandage-republican-convention/","keywords":["Donald Trump","News desk edits"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0b596e36e5227ae7/698a58bfd07533c0b6e70f9b/trump-rnc-appearance-bandage.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Brian Bennett","jobTitle":"Bennett is the senior White House correspondent at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Cortellessa","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eric-cortellessa/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0b596e36e5227ae7/698a58bfd07533c0b6e70f9b/trump-rnc-appearance-bandage.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Election 2024 RNC","caption":"Election 2024 RNC","creditText":"Evan Vucci—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6998981/trump-first-appearance-shooting-bandage-republican-convention/","name":"Trump Energizes Republicans at Convention With First Public Appearance After Shooting"}}]}] ```