President Donald Trump renominated for 2020 election

US President Donald Trump was officially nominated by the Republican party for November's presidential election on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Attendance at the convention, which normally attracts thousands of party supporters, was limited to just 336 delegates on Monday, who participated in a roll-call vote to formally renominate the president.

The in-person vote was a direct contract to last week's Democratic National Convention, the entirety of which took place virtually due to concerns an indoor event could spread the coronavirus.

Read more: Ex-President Barack Obama lays into Trump in DNC speech

Trump made a surprise appearance on the first day of the convention to observe the roll call, as did Vice President Mike Pence, who is to be officially nominated on Wednesday. Incumbents traditionally stay away from their party's convention until the final day to deliver their acceptance speeches.

"I felt an obligation to come to North Carolina," Trump told the delegates. "What's more important than a roll call?"

"We have to win. This is the most important election in the history of our country," the president added. "Our country can go in a horrible, horrible direction or in an even greater direction."

Trump will appear at all four days of the convention, though he won't speak on each day, according to the Washington Post newspaper. He is expected to accept his nomination on Thursday at the White House in Washington.

As incumbent, Trump and Pence would then run against the Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden and his vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris in November's elections.

Read more:  Opinion: Biden isn't Trump — but that's not enough

dv/msh (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)