There were intense scenes as bandaged Donald Trump appeared in public for the first time since he was shot in the ear during a failed assassination attempt.

The former US president took to the stage triumphantly at the Republican National Convention’s opening night with dressing over his right ear.

Delegates cheered wildly as Trump was shown onscreen backstage and then emerged, visibly emotional, as Lee Greenwood sang God Bless the USA.

Trump did not address the convention.

But he received a hero’s welcome, with rapturous applause and cries from his devoted supporters.

Trump’s appearance came hours after jubilant delegates nominated him to lead their ticket for a third time and welcomed Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate.

The vote makes it official that Trump, who has long been the presumptive nominee, will lead the GOP in a third consecutive election.

The winner in 2016, he lost to President Joe Biden in 2020. In November, he will again face Biden.

Trump’s announcement of Vance as his choice for a vice-presidential running mate was also formally endorsed at the Milwaukee convention.

Supporters wildly cheered Donald Trump. Photo: Getty

The young senator rose to national attention with his best-selling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, depicting a harsh life in rural America.

“As Vice President, JD will continue to fight for our Constitution, stand with our Troops, and will do everything he can to help me MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Vance, 39, was a fierce Trump critic in 2016 but has since become one of the former president’s staunchest defenders.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has said it was a mistake for him to suggest he wanted to put a “bull’s-eye” on Trump.

But Biden told NBC News in an interview not yet aired that the rhetoric coming from his opponent was more incendiary.

The remark from Biden came during a private call with donors last week as the Democrat was scrambling to shore up his imperilled candidacy with key party constituencies.

During that conversation, Biden declared he was ‘done’ talking about his poor debate performance and it was ‘time to put Trump in the bull’s-eye,’ saying there’d been too little scrutiny of his rival’s stances and rhetoric.

“It was a mistake to use the word,” Biden told NBC anchor Lester Holt in a clip released by the network, ahead of its broadcast.

Biden continued: “How do you talk about the threat to democracy which is real, when a president says things like he says? Do you just not say anything because it may incite somebody?”

The president said he was not the one who engages in ‘that rhetoric,’ referring to Trump’s past comments about a ‘bloodbath’ if the Republican loses to Biden in November.

Biden described the Republicans vice-presidential pick, Ohio Senator JD Vance, as a ‘clone’, as he prepares to resume full-throttle campaigning after Trump survived an assassination attempt.

Trump nomination

Trump is due to formally accept the Republican party’s nomination in a prime-time speech on Thursday.

On Tuesday (AEDT), delegates danced and waved Trump signs as the song Celebration played.

Throughout the voting, delegates flanked by “Make America Great Again” signs applauded as state after state announced support for Trump’s second term.

Saturday’s shooting at a Pennsylvania rally, where Trump was injured and one man died, was not far from delegates’ minds as they celebrated.

Some delegates chanted “fight, fight, fight” – the words that Trump was seen shouting to the crowd as the Secret Service ushered him off the stage, his fist raised and face bloodied.

“We should all be thankful right now that we are able to cast our votes for president Donald J Trump after what took place on Saturday,” New Jersey state Senator Michael Testa said.

Donald Trump with his running mate Senator JD Vance, from Ohio. Photo: Getty

After the assassination attempt, Trump said he was revising his acceptance speech to emphasise national unity rather than highlight his differences with Biden.

“This is a chance to bring the whole country, even the whole world, together. The speech will be a lot different, a lot different than it would’ve been two days ago,” Trump told the Washington Examiner.

Some well-timed good news also affected the mood on the convention floor on Monday (local time).

The federal judge presiding over Trump’s classified documents case dismissed the prosecution because of concerns over the appointment of the prosecutor who brought the case, handing the former president a major court victory.

The US Justice Department will appeal against the ruling.

In addition to formally naming Trump the nominee, delegates from across the nation have updated the GOP’s policy platform for the first time since 2016.

The scaled-down platform proposal – just 16 pages with limited specifics on key issues, including abortion – reflects a desire by the Trump campaign to avoid giving Democrats more material on campaign issues.

The speaking program includes a handful of Republicans charged with crimes related to other political violence – the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

Former White House adviser Peter Navarro, who’s in jail for refusing to co-operate with a congressional investigation into the Capitol attack, is expected to speak at the convention just hours after his release.

Trump has repeatedly cast the people involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 election, including his many supporters who stormed the Capitol, as political prisoners.

Hundreds of demonstrators converged on downtown Milwaukee to protest around the convention, calling attention to issues such as abortion rights, economic justice and the war in Gaza.

Their movements were restricted as part of enhanced security precautions established by the Secret Service.

-with AAP/AP