Inside the Republican National Convention, supporters of Donald Trump wear red ties and clutch MAGA 2024 hats – but there is a new addition to the costume.

At least a couple of people are now sporting fake large white bandages on their ears, a nod to the injury Mr Trump sustained in Saturday night’s shooting.

The full extent of the damage to the former president’s ear is not yet clear.

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His doctor Ronny Jackson says he is missing part of his upper right ear but we don’t know if he is receiving ongoing treatment.

Whatever the long-term prognosis, Mr Trump’s bandage is now perhaps his most powerful political prop. Since the attempted assassination, polls show he leads Joe Biden in all seven swing states.

The mood at Milwaukee’s Fiserv arena, where the convention is taking place, is buoyant.

“Fight, fight, fight,” says Debi Stotte from Texas, pumping her fist in the air, mimicking Mr Trump.

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“That’s what he said, right? And he gets up like that and the first thing he thinks about is us – us, the people.”

Erin Sweeney, from North Carolina, believes the shooting, followed by Mr Trump’s out of character pleas for unity, will help him win over independent voters.

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“An assassination attempt like that? My sense is it’s having him reflect on what’s really important and he’s got to get this done,” she says.

Mr Trump says he has revised his convention speech with de-escalation in mind.

“I want to try to unite our country, but I don’t know if that’s possible,” he said on Sunday.

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He may be striking a conciliatory tone but the rhetoric inside the convention hall is familiar.

On Tuesday evening the theme was Make America Safe Again and delegates were whooping as they waved placards which read “Stop Biden’s Border Bloodbath” in the air and angrily chanted “build that wall”.

One woman tells me she believes the Biden administration was “behind” the shooting of Mr Trump, a baseless conspiracy theory catching fire online.

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In Milwaukee, Mr Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr has assumed a prominent role as a mouthpiece for the campaign. He insists his father’s calls for unity were not just for show.

“He’s going to be tough when he has to be,” he said at an event for Axios.

“We’ve seen that, he’s never gonna change. But I think there will be something. I think these are momentous occasions that change people permanently.”

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Donald Trump’s speech on Thursday will be the denouement of this convention.

It will be the first time he has spoken publicly since his brush with death.

But it may be months before this country discovers if it has truly changed his outlook.

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