Watch Live: RNC Day 4 underway with Trump set to close out convention

WWE star Hulk Hogan gave perhaps the most colorful speech of the night, with most of Trump’s family arriving shortly before it began.

“Let Trumpmania run wild, brother!” he said, ripping his black t-shirt to reveal a red Trump/Vance 2024 shirt underneath. 

Hulk Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, said he’s known Trump for over 35 years. 

“He’s always been the biggest patriot, and he still is,” the WWE legend said. 

The pro wrestler also had a name for Trump supporters, whom he called “real Americans”: “Trumpites.” 

“When Donald J. Trump becomes the president of the United States, all the real Americans are going to be nicknamed Trumpites,” he said. “Because all the Trumpites are going to be running wild for four years.”

Hogan said Trump is the “toughest of them all.” He referenced Saturday’s assassination attempt. 

“What happened last week, when they took a shot at my hero and they tried to kill the next president of the United States — enough was enough,” he said. 

Here’s the latest reporting from CBS News’ Robert Costa:

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson said “divine intervention” saved Trump’s life on Saturday, arguing that the shooting transformed Trump into “the leader of a nation.” 

The presidency comes with great power, he said, but the title is “bestowed by a process.” 

“Just because you call yourself the president doesn’t mean that much,” he said. “But being a leader is very different. It’s not a title. It’s organic. You can’t name someone a leader. A leader is the bravest man. That’s who the leader is.” 

Carlson said Trump could have used inflammatory rhetoric against his critics in the shooting’s aftermath, but “he did his best to bring the country together.” 

“This is the most responsible unifying behavior of a leader, I think I’ve ever seen,” he said. 

Carlson said late last year he became a supporter of the former president’s when the FBI executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago in the classified documents case, which was dismissed earlier this week. 

In January 2021, Carlson said he hated Trump “passionately,” according to text messages revealed in court documents in a defamation suit against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems. 

Carlson also praised Vance, calling him a “thoroughly decent man.” 

“One of the very few politicians in Washington, who actually is very close to his own wife, which is wonderful to see. And she’s wonderful, actually,” Carlson said. 

With the RNC in full swing, two more Democratic lawmakers said President Biden should not seek reelection.

Rep. Jim Costa of California told CBS News’ Robert Costa that Mr. Biden should “pass the torch” and leave the race.

“[F]or the good of the country, I think it is time for the President to pass the torch to the next generation to carry on the legacy he started,” the congressman said in a written statement. “Democrats need to unite and deliver their strongest team to the American people in this election.”

Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, who is in a tight reelection fight, also called on the president to step aside.

“[W]hile I appreciate his commitment to public service and our country, I believe President Biden should not seek re-election to another term,” he said in a statement to the Daily Montanan. Tester is the second Democratic senator to call on Mr. Biden to drop out.

Alina Habba, Trump’s lawyer in his various legal cases in New York, said she has had the “great privilege of representing President Donald J. Trump.” 

“His unwavering support not only shaped my career, but has inspired other young women with big dreams,” Habba said. 

Habba said Trump “championed my journey, empowering me to be who I became today.” 

“His unwavering support not only shaped my career, but has inspired other young women with big dreams,” she said. 

Trump, she said, is her “friend.” 

“The only crime Trump has committed is loving America,” she said. 

Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in New York in May.

The former president arrived at the convention for its fourth and final session just before 7 p.m. local time. He entered the Fiserv Forum to AC/DC’s “Back in Black” and took his seat in the family-and-friends box to listen to the night’s remaining speeches.

Among those seated with the former president is country music star Jason Aldean and his wife, Brittany.

The first speaker after Trump arrived was John Nieporte, a golf professional at one of his courses who hailed Trump’s golf game.

Mike Pompeo, who led the State Department and CIA under Trump, recounted foreign policy under the previous administration.

“We put America first every single day,” he said.

The former secretary of state made a quip about Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who came under scrutiny after he was hospitalized earlier this year and did not immediately disclose it to the White House, Congress and the public.

“We never lost our secretary of defense for two weeks either,” Pompeo said.

He accused the Biden administration of treating “illegals better than our own citizens,” which he called “indecent.”

“Donald Trump will every day, I saw it firsthand, he will put America first,” Pompeo said. “So let’s do what’s right and what’s important. Let’s elect a president who isn’t ashamed of our nation and will never apologize for our country. And when we do, we will put a strong America first leader back in the White House.”

Trump wrote Thursday night’s nomination acceptance speech himself, a top Trump aide told CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett in Milwaukee.

“He, as he said himself, tore up his speech after the failed assassination attempt,” said Trump campaign senior adviser Danielle Alvarez, noting Trump wanted to “meet the moment.”

“This speech, he wrote personally,” she said. “He poured into — he was making final edits up until just the walkthroughs and the rehearsals today. And it will be very personal. It will be from the heart. And it will meet the moment. It will call for the unity that the nation needs.”

Alvarez said this new speech is “deeply personal” and “heartfelt.”

Trump’s prepared remarks, Alvarez said, do not mention President Biden by name. 

“I have read excerpts, and I can definitely say that Biden by name will not be mentioned,” Alvarez said. 

Former first lady Melania Trump, who has been notably absent from the week’s festivities, will be in attendance when her husband officially accepts the nomination, according to the former president’s senior adviser Danielle Alvarez. 

Alvarez told CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett that Trump’s “entire family” will be there. 

The former first lady has been mostly out of the public eye since leaving the White House and has not campaigned for her husband, except for appearing at his reelection announcement and attending a few private fundraising events. 

McMahon, who served as the head of the Small Business Administration under Trump, recounted a story to the convention crowd of attending a meeting with the former president at Mar-a-Lago, where his 4-year-old granddaughter ran into his arms.

McMahon said the young girl “whisked off his hat and mussed his hair.”

“He smiled with the love that only a grandfather could’ve given,” she said.

Before joining the Trump administration, McMahon served as the CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, and Trump is in the group’s hall of fame. In addition to McMahon, one other big name from the WWE will address the RNC: retired wrestler Hulk Hogan.

Trump has said he rewrote his Republican National Convention speech to focus on unity after Saturday’s assassination attempt. CBS News’ Jake Rosen and Ed O’Keefe preview the address:

Sen. JD Vance of Ohio gave a quick preview Wednesday night of the approach a potential Trump-Vance administration could take on foreign policy. CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent and “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan joins “The Daily Report with John Dickerson” with analysis:

The RNC and Trump campaign released the list of speakers who will address delegates before Trump takes the stage. Some of the most notable names include:

• Sen. Steve Daines of Montana
• Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee
• Linda McMahon, former head of the Small Business Administration
• Mike Pompeo, former secretary of state
• Alina Habba, Trump’s attorney
• Tucker Carlson
• Hulk Hogan
• Franklin Graham
• Eric Trump
• Dana White, CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship

The day’s official session is slated to end at 10:30 p.m. CT, or 11:30 p.m. ET. 

When Trump accepts the Republican nomination Thursday night, he’ll do so with his largest national lead over Mr. Biden in the campaign thus far. 

A slight majority, including some who aren’t voting for him, say Trump’s words in the days since the assassination attempt have been more unifying than divisive. Voters feel the same way about Mr. Biden’s response to the tragic events, too.

But it is Trump with the growing advantage in the vote. Trump is up five points nationally now, and three across the key battleground states. To put that national lead in context: it’s been 20 years since a Republican presidential candidate has won the national popular vote, and over 30 years since a Republican won by more than five. 

The race across the battlegrounds moved one point more toward Trump today since we surveyed the battlegrounds last week.

Read more from the poll here.