Trump accepts Republican nomination for president, lays out second-term agenda

MILWAUKEE, the United States - Former US president Donald Trump formally accepted the Republican nomination for president on Thursday night at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and laid out his vision for the country if he returns to the White House.

In an hour-and-a-half speech on the convention's final day, Trump called for "unity", vowing to reduce inflation, cut taxes, secure the border, achieve energy dominance and end international crises.

Trump began his speech by recounting his near-death experience from the attempted assassination at the rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. "I had God on my side," he said.

The former president called on Democrats to "immediately stop weaponizing the justice system and labeling their political opponent as an enemy of democracy".

"They should drop these partisan witch hunts which I have been going through for approximately eight years," Trump said, alluding to the multiple criminal cases he's mired in.

He praised a recent federal judge's decision to dismiss the case against him involving allegations of holding classified documents and obstructing efforts to recover them, which President Joe Biden called a "specious" decision.

In early July, the US Supreme Court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, ruled that Trump has immunity from criminal charges for his 'official' actions conducted as president in the attempts to reverse the 2020 election results, a decision harshly criticized by Democrats.

In the speech, Trump lashed out at the Biden administration's policies, highlighting surging inflation, an influx of illegal immigrants and a chaotic international situation.

"We have an inflation crisis that is making life unaffordable, ravaging the incomes of working and low-income families and simply crashing our people like never before," Trump said.

He pledged to continue building the US-Mexico border wall, accusing illegal immigrants of destroying the country. "I will end the illegal immigration crisis by closing our border and finishing a wall," he said.

Trump also vowed to end the "electric vehicle mandate" and bring back car manufacturing, threatening to put a tariff of 100 to 200 percent on each imported car.

The former president signed a 1.5 trillion tax cut in late 2017 and called for a fresh round of tax cuts while pledging to cut federal debt with "tremendous" economic growth.

"To all of the forgotten men and women who have been neglected, abandoned and left behind, you will be forgotten no longer," Trump concluded his speech by making a similar appeal from 2016.

Thursday marks the final day of the four-day Republican National Convention. On Wednesday night, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, author of the bestselling memoir "Hillbilly Elegy", accepted the party's nomination for vice president and introduced himself to the nation.

The Republican National Convention was held as Biden grapples with intensifying pressure from his Democratic Party to drop out of the race. About 20 Democratic lawmakers urged him to step aside.

Former US president Barack Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have reportedly expressed concerns privately that they think the president's chances of beating Trump in November are diminishing.

According to the latest average of polls from Real Clear Politics, Trump leads President Joe Biden by 3.0 percentage points. In crucial swing states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, Trump leads by 3.3, 1.7 and 4.5 percentage points, respectively.