Former President Donald Trump gave the longest nomination acceptance speech ever recorded during the final night of the Republican National Convention Thursday evening.
Trump spoke for 92 minutes upstage as he accepted the Republican nomination for president in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The speech is the longest since at least 1956, when the length of presidential nomination speeches started being recorded, according to the American Presidency Project.
President Joe Biden’s nomination speech lasted just over 24 minutes during the August 20, 2020, Democratic National Convention, making the former president’s speech on Thursday 3.8 times longer, according to the American Presidency Project.
Trump has the three longest nomination speeches of any president recorded on either side of the aisle, according to the American Presidency Project. His first nomination speech from July 21, 2016, lasted 74 minutes, while his address from August 27, 2020, spanned 70 minutes.
The two presidents to come closest to that record are former President George W. Bush, who gave a 62-minute nomination address in 2004, and former President Bill Clinton, who gave a 66-minute speech in 1996, according to the American Presidency Project.
Trump’s address marked the first time he spoke in front of a crowd since the attempted assassination during Saturday’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The former president was shot in the upper part of his right ear at the podium and walked off the stage with blood dripping down his face.
The former president unveiled a memorial for former fire chief Corey Comperatore, who lost his life during the assassination attempt. After honoring Comperatore as a “fine man” and issuing a moment of silence, Trump walked over to Comperatore’s firefighter uniform and gave it a kiss.
Trump spent a lengthy portion of the speech heavily focusing on the assassination attempt and reflecting on his near-death experience. He then called for the Republican Party to unite to unify the country.
The former president only uttered Biden’s name once before pledging not to do so again. He compared his record to Biden’s by touting his legislative policies relating to the border, economy and crime.
