Trump heads to Republican convention after surviving assassination attempt

Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he is heading to Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention, where he will be formally nominated for president later this week, despite surviving an assassination attempt that has further deepened the already intense political divide in the US.

President Joe Biden, a Democrat, stated that he has ordered an investigation into how a 20-year-old man carrying an AR-15-style rifle managed to get close enough to shoot at Trump from a rooftop. Trump, as a former president, is entitled to lifetime protection from the US Secret Service.

Trump, 78, was holding a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground state for the upcoming election on November 5, when shots were fired, grazing his right ear and causing his face to bleed. His campaign reported that he is doing well, with no major injuries other than a wound on his upper right ear.

The Republican National Convention will commence on Monday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Trump is set to receive his party's formal nomination. Michael Whatley, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, told Fox News on Sunday that authorities are collaborating to secure the venue, with extensive security measures having been planned for months.

"I was going to delay my trip to Wisconsin, and The Republican National Convention, by two days, but have just decided that I cannot allow a 'shooter,' or potential assassin, to force change to scheduling, or anything else. Therefore, I will be leaving for Milwaukee, as scheduled," Trump wrote on his Truth Social site on Sunday.He stated that he would be departing in the afternoon.