Republicans Focus on Convention Security after Trump Shooting

 A supporter of Former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump waits by Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, Wisconsin, on July 14, 2024, to try and get a glimpse of his plane landing. The Republican National Convention will take place from July 15th to the 18th. (AFP)
A supporter of Former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump waits by Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, Wisconsin, on July 14, 2024, to try and get a glimpse of his plane landing. The Republican National Convention will take place from July 15th to the 18th. (AFP)
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Republicans Focus on Convention Security after Trump Shooting

 A supporter of Former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump waits by Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, Wisconsin, on July 14, 2024, to try and get a glimpse of his plane landing. The Republican National Convention will take place from July 15th to the 18th. (AFP)
A supporter of Former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump waits by Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, Wisconsin, on July 14, 2024, to try and get a glimpse of his plane landing. The Republican National Convention will take place from July 15th to the 18th. (AFP)

US law enforcement agencies are working to ensure security at the Republican Party's convention in Milwaukee this week, following an assassination attempt on Donald Trump at a campaign rally.

Trump escaped with minor injuries and will accept the formal Republican presidential nomination at the four-day convention, expected to draw more than 50,000 people.

"We feel very comfortable that we're working with the Secret Service. We're working with 40 different law enforcement agencies in terms of what that security is going to look like," Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley said in an interview on Fox.

Trump, 78, had just begun to speak in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday evening when a bullet pierced his right ear, streaking his face with blood.

A 50-year-old volunteer firefighter died shielding his family to protect them from the bullets. Two other rally attendees were critically wounded. Law enforcement agents killed the suspected gunman, a 20-year-old resident of Bethel Park, about an hour away from the rally.

Whatley urged Republicans to use this moment as an opportunity for unity, moving beyond partisan divisions.

"There is no place in politics in any way, shape or form for this kind of violence, for these types of actions. It's a horrific act," Whatley said. "Everybody in America needs to stop. They need to pause, they need to reflect on what is actually important for us in this political process going forward."

Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, who is a key ally for Trump's rival President Joe Biden, said the violence against Trump should motivate both parties to shore up security, with Democrats due to hold their convention in Chicago in August.

"We need to be more concerned and more diligent than ever in ensuring that our two conventions and the rest of this presidential campaign comes off safely and securely," he told NBC.

The Republican convention in Milwaukee this week is set to take place in the arena that is home to the NBA Milwaukee Bucks basketball team.



Biden Tests Positive for COVID, Will Self-Isolate in Delaware

President Joe Biden walks up the steps of Air Force One at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (AP)
President Joe Biden walks up the steps of Air Force One at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (AP)
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Biden Tests Positive for COVID, Will Self-Isolate in Delaware

President Joe Biden walks up the steps of Air Force One at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (AP)
President Joe Biden walks up the steps of Air Force One at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (AP)

US President Joe Biden, under fire from fellow Democrats to drop his re-election campaign, tested positive for COVID-19 while on a trip to Las Vegas on Wednesday and is self-isolating after experiencing mild symptoms, the White House said.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced the positive test for the 81-year-old Democrat after Biden cancelled a speech due to the diagnosis.

"He is vaccinated and boosted and experiencing mild symptoms, Jean-Pierre said.

As he boarded Air Force One to depart Las Vegas to recuperate in Delaware, Biden told reporters: "Good, I feel good."

The illness comes at a crucial time for Biden, who has been losing ground in battleground states against Republican Donald Trump, who is headlining a triumphant convention this week after he survived an assassination attempt on Saturday.

The White House said Biden planned to spend a long weekend at his Delaware beach house. It was unclear how long the sickness would keep him for the campaign trail.

Minutes after the announcement, the president's motorcade was on the move to the Las Vegas airport after taping a radio interview in the city.

Biden had greeted a couple of dozen people at a Mexican restaurant prior to going into the radio interview. He was running late to deliver a speech to Latino civil rights group UnidosUS when the organizer, Janet Murguia, announced he had tested positive for COVID.

There were groans in the conference room at the news.

"He said to tell my folks that we're not going to get rid of him that quickly, we're going to have a chance to hear from him in the future directly," Murguia said.

Biden, who had spent two nights in Vegas on the campaign trail, is locked in a battle with some fellow Democrats who worry he is too old to seek re-election and want him to step aside in favor of another candidate.

He has been defiant in the face of the calls to quit the race.

"He will be returning to Delaware where he will self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time," said Jean-Pierre.

Biden suffered a blow earlier on Wednesday when a prominent Democratic member of the US House of Representatives, Adam Schiff of California, said it was time for him to "pass the torch" to someone else.

Some 40% of Democratic registered voters said Biden should drop his reelection bid, in a Reuters/Ipsos poll concluded on Tuesday. Some 65% of independent registered voters agreed with them.

Some 58% of Democratic registered voters told the poll they believed Biden is too old to work in government - 70% of independent registered voters agreed.

The White House cited Biden's doctor as saying he had been suffering from upper respiratory symptoms earlier in the afternoon.

"He felt OK for his first event of the day, but given that he was not feeling better, point of care testing for COVID-19 was conducted and the results were positive for the COVID-19 virus," the statement said.

The White House said Biden will be self-isolating in according with Centers for Disease Control guidelines.

His symptoms are mild and he has received an initial dose of Paxlovid, the doctor said.