RNC 2024 Day 2: Trump feted by former rivals Haley, DeSantis in show of GOP unity

Dr. Ben Carson, Trump's Housing and Urban Development secretary and former 2016 presidential rival, took the stage and argued that last week's assassination attempt was part of a long line of attacks against the former president.

"First, they tried to ruin his reputation, and he's more popular now than ever. And then they tried to bankrupt him, and he's got more money now than he had before. And then they tried to put him in prison, and he's freer and has made other people free with him. And then -- and then, last weekend they tried to kill him. And there he is over there, alive and well," Carson said to applause.

Carson did not specify who "they" were.

He went on to criticize the media and the government for dividing the nation contending the latter was "shredding our constitution and upending the rule of law.

During Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's remarks, the crowd chanted in honor of Corey Comperatore, the man killed during the assassination attempt on Trump during Saturday's rally.

"He was described as the best dad a girl could ever ask for," Rubio said. "He was a man of God who loved Jesus fiercely. He looked after members of his church. Corey was one of the millions of everyday Americans who make our country great."

Rubio continued, "He wasn't rich. He wasn't famous. And the only reason why we know his name and story now is because last Saturday, he shielded his wife and daughter from an assassin's bullet and lost his life the way he lived it, a hero."

The crowd then broke out into a chant of "Corey, Corey, Corey!"

As the COVID pandemic raged, an ugly trend continued during the Biden administration, with overdose deaths climbing to 106,699 in 2021 and peaking in 2022 at 111,027 before falling slightly in 2023 to 107,543, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

Arkansas governor and Trump's former press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told the crowd that she had not been prouder to stand with the former president.

"Not even an assassin's bullet could stop him. God almighty intervened because America is one nation, under God and he is certainly not finished with President Trump," she said.

Ahead of her speech, aides to the governor told ABC News that this was going to be an emotional speech by the first-time governor and long-time defender of Trump.

Sanders criticized President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for their policies on the economy and crime.

She claimed that the left "did not care about empowering women," and repeated a line said by others that they "can't even tell you what a woman is."

She again touted how Trump was resilient even after the assassination attempt over the weekend.

"We can't get him back in the White House fast enough," she said, prompting the crowd to cheer.

-ABC News' John Santucci