A party confesses at the Republican National Convention, Milwaukee, Wisconsin July 18, 2024. PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRUCE GILDEN / MAGNUM PHOTOS.Photographer Bruce Gilden captured at obscene rallies in 2020 for Vanity Fair as well as the following year. This week, Gilden captured the Republican Party rallying around Trump for a third time, in a series of stunning photos, from vivid portraits of political allies, like Roger Stone, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Kevin McCarthy, to shots of selfie-taking convention-goers soaking up the spectacle. Dana White, the UFC boss, was seen making the rounds.
Few could have anticipated the scenario three and a half years ago, when Trump abruptly quit as president after inciting an uprising at the US Capitol. It’s a remarkable display of a political party in thrall to one man. But despite indictments—and conviction—Trump took the stage Thursday night as the party’s standard-bearer. He began in an uncharacteristically subdued manner, recounting last Saturday’s shooting, only to into a rambling stump speech, offering a dark, right-wing vision for America before the balloons dropped.
