The moments from Trump’s RNC speech that drew the most applause

The Washington Post analyzed the volume levels inside the convention center throughout the 92-minute speech.

Trump’s acceptance of the nomination clocked in as the loudest moment of the evening at 107 decibels. Or put another way, imagine standing next to a car horn or chain saw. Take a listen yourself (but don’t worry, we didn’t make the audio that loud!)

Here are three other moments that elicited some of the loudest cheers — and highlighted a GOP that has never been more firmly in Trump’s grip:

After a quick introduction, Trump offered a somber recounting of the assassination attempt he survived last week — his first speech since the deadly rally in Butler, Penn. Trump and his doctors have said little about his injury or treatment in the five days since the shooting.

The projectile, fired from an AR-style rifle by a 20-year-old Pennsylvania man, came within a “quarter-inch” of taking his life, Trump said. “I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” he said. The crowd responded with chants of, “Yes, you are!” Trump recalled blood pouring from his head and bullets whizzing over him, but said he “felt safe because I had God on my side.”

Another raucous moment came when Trump pivoted to his criminal cases and repeated his baseless claim that Democrats are “weaponizing” the justice system against their political opponents. He seized on a federal judge’s decision this week to dismiss the case in Florida that charged him with illegally hoarding classified documents and conspiring with aides to cover up his actions — to the delight of the crowd. “The entire case was thrown out of court,” he said, “with all of that publicity, thrown out of court.”

In almost the same breath, Trump called out to his wife, Melania Trump, drawing some of the loudest applause of the night. The former first lady has been conspicuously absent from major campaign events, including Trump’s debate with President Biden. She also didn’t speak at this convention after taking the stage in 2016 and 2020.

By the halfway mark of his speech, Trump seemed to be losing some of the audience. After an uncharacteristically emotional start, he had veered into his standard rally fare — immigration, China and the economy — recycling lines that he’s used in speeches for months now.

But he still got applause for some of his favorite campaign promises: sealing the border and drilling for oil. “At the heart of the Republican platform is our pledge to end this border nightmare and fully restore the sacred and sovereign borders of the United States of America. And we’re going to do that on day one,” he said. “And that means two things on day one, right?” he continued. “Drill, baby, drill, and close our borders.”

Trump went on in this fashion for the rest of his speech, which last for more than an hour and a half. On the floor toward the end of his speech a woman sitting with the Illinois delegation was heard saying, “Wrap it up, Don!”

Adrián Blanco and Bishop Sand reported from Washington. Derek Hawkins and Ross Godwin contributed to this report.

To record crowd loudness, Post reporters were positioned on the convention floor and in the upper level at Fiserv Forum during Trump’s speech Thursday night. Decibel levels are approximated.