What time will Trump speak at the RNC? – what to expect on day four

Donald Trump will deliver his curtain-closing speech at the climax of the Republican National Convention on Thursday night.

The presidential nominee will be watched by former First Lady Melania Trump, making a rare public appearance.

Tens of thousands of people have been attending the four-day jamboree this week in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the party makes its case to voters ahead of November’s general election.

Trump is expected to deliver “a deep message of unity” and share his vision of “a new golden age for America” in a speech lasting about an hour, according to campaign and party officials.

He is due to take the stage, for what will be his third consecutive Republican nomination, at around 21:00 local time (02:00 GMT) after a performance by Kid Rock.

Trump told the Washington Examiner he completely rewrote the speech to make it less combative after he narrowly survived an assassination attempt last Saturday in Pennsylvania.

Scheduled to speak earlier on Thursday are World Wrestling Entertainment legend Hulk Hogan, Eric Trump, former Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Trump lawyer Alina Habba, and the head of Trump Golf International.

Dana White, head of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson are also expected to take to the podium.

The former first lady is scheduled to walk out to the family box to watch her husband’s speech in her first appearance at the 2024 convention since it began on Monday.

Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner are also expected to join the former first lady. Barron Trump is not currently expected to appear.

The family members are expected to join Trump on stage after his address for the balloon drop that is all part of the razzmatazz of a US party political conference.

Once every four years each of the two main US parties hosts a convention to formally select their respective White House standard-bearer and prepare for the final stretch of campaigning.

During the convention, the delegates from each state pledge their support to the candidate of their choice and approve a platform.

It was merely a formality for Trump as the party’s presumptive nominee because he won 2,265 delegates in the primaries, enough for the nomination.

The Democrats hold their convention next month in Chicago.

Thursday’s theme is “Make America Great Once Again”. Monday’s was “Make America Wealthy Once Again”, Tuesday was “Make America Safe Again”, and Wednesday “Make America Strong Again”.

The streamlined party platform this year is 16 pages, and firmly bears the nominee’s endorsement, softening the language on abortion and avoiding a definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.

It’s considerably shorter than the last two RNC platforms in 2016 and 2020, which spanned about 66 pages and included some policies Trump himself had not approved.

You can follow the latest news, including live pages, at bbc.com/news.

The BBC News TV channel will broadcast Trump’s speech live on Thursday and bring you reaction and analysis afterwards.

And you can also watch on the RNC website.