Sawt Falasteen - Republicans gather for convention, eager to hail Trump after shooting

With the country still digesting the image of a bloodied Trump -- his fist raised, an American flag behind him, shouting "Fight!" as the Secret Service rushed him to safety -- the former president is set to be anointed the party's champion to again face Joe Biden at the ballot box.

Some 50,000 Republicans have descended on the shores of Lake Michigan for the four-day salute to all things Trump, culminating in his acceptance speech on Thursday.

Before that Trump will unveil his vice-presidential pick, with Fox News reporting that he will "make a VP choice today."

Convention organizers insisted the show would go on despite the attempt on Trump's life at his rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

"We're not going to change anything because of a tragic event in Pennsylvania," David Bossie, head of conservative activist group Citizens United and a co-chair of the convention, told AFP.

Nevertheless, the attempted assassination -- in which one bystander was killed, and two more wounded -- is the only story in town.

Trump himself had defied any calls to postpone the convention in the hours after the shooting, vowing to be "defiant in the face of wickedness."

"I'm not supposed to be here, I'm supposed to be dead," Trump told the New York Post in an interview aboard his plane en route to Milwaukee, during which he reportedly sported a white bandage on his ear and a large bruise on his forearm from where the Secret Service agents gripped him.

"By luck or by God, many people are saying it's by God I'm still here," he said.

Riding high in the polls despite a cascade of indictments, and his first conviction, Trump appears on course for victory as Biden, 81, faces calls from his own side to quit the race over concerns around his age.

He scored another huge victory early Monday as a judge dismissed the criminal case against him over accusations he endangered national security by holding on to top secret documents after leaving the White House.

Trump immediately took to Truth Social to call for the dismissal of "ALL the Witch Hunts" against him, insisting again that he was being targeted for political reasons.

- Takeover -

Trump told the New York Post that he had "prepared an extremely tough speech" to deliver as he becomes the official Republican nominee on Thursday about Biden's "horrible administration."

But, even as some Republicans sought to blame Democrats' anti-Trump rhetoric for the attack, he said he had torn up that version in favor of one he hopes will "unite our country."

Still, that would see him have to rein in the instinct to settle scores demonstrated in his branding of the court cases as election interference, and cry for supporters to "fight" in the seconds after Saturday's attack.

The attempt on his life has revived fears over political violence in a country already polarized and on edge.

Most of the important party business at conventions takes place behind a protective ring of steel, and Milwaukee is no different, with the Secret Service saying it was "fully prepared."

Much of the convention is designed in Trump's image, with large digital banners beaming out a tweaked message in the cavernous convention arena: "Make America Great Once Again."

His iron grip reflects a broader takeover -- often hostile -- of the party itself.

Installing handpicked loyalists including his daughter-in-law Lara Trump atop the Republican National Committee, the billionaire has worked to crush dissent.

The Milwaukee convention is very much a family affair, with Lara and the former president's two eldest sons, Don Jr and Eric, due to address the more than 2,400 delegates, as well as frontrunners in the contest to be Trump's running mate.

The ex-president appears to have zeroed in on two US senators -- Ohio's J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio of Florida -- as well as North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, with Vance seemingly the favorite.

I.Matar--SF-PST