Trump enters GOP convention wearing bandage over ear

MILWAUKEE — Former President Trump entered the convention hall to rapturous applause as he made his first public appearance since being injured in an assassination attempt on Saturday.

Trump is wearing a bandage on his ear where he was hit with an assassin’s bullet during a Saturday rally. The crowd roared at the site of him on the video screen.

He waved and fist pumped at the crowd as he made his way to his box seat. He shook hands with Tucker Carlson, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), running mate JD Vance (R-Ohio), and his family members before taking his seat.

While Trump was shown on the video board in the arena, Lee Greenwood performed “God Bless the USA,” the song that plays at the start of every Trump rally.

At the conclusion of the song, the crowd broke out in a chant of “fight,” a reference to what Trump said to his supporters in Pennsylvania after getting to his feet following Saturday’s shooting.

Two hours before Trump arrived, word spread that he would enter the convention hall from a hallway in the corner of the floor. Dozens of supporters gathered around a rope line in hopes of seeing the former president up close.

Trump is slated to deliver remarks on Thursday night.

Trump had not made any public appearances since Saturday’s rally, when an assassin’s bullet grazed his ear. The gunman and one rally goer were killed.

The former president has spoken with more than a dozen people since then, including lawmakers and media personalities like Fox News anchor Bret Baier and CNBC host Joe Kernen.