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Aug. 23 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump somberly preached unity and healing during remarks Wednesday afternoon at the National Convention of the American Legion in Nevada, one day after firing up supporters at a rally in Phoenix. Trump, who also addressed the convention last year in Cincinnati as a presidential candidate, mainly struck to the script as he thanked veterans and listed the ways in which his administration has tried to improve the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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"We have no division too deep for us to heal and there is no enemy too strong for us to overcome," Trump said. "Because in America we never lose faith. We never forget who we are, and we never stop striving for a better future."
About 9,000 American Legion members and their families are attending the convention. It is the largest wartime veterans service organization, with 2.3 million members, according to the Indianapolis-based organization's website.
Tuesday night in Phoenix, Trump held a campaign-style rally with supporters in which he blamed the media for the backlash to his response to violence at protests in Charlottesville, Va. He frequently didn't read from the teleprompter.
The president stayed overnight in Phoenix and flew to Reno Wednesday morning. After the speech he returned to Washington.
"It is time to heal the wounds that divide us and to seek a new unity based on the common values that unite us," Trump said in Reno. "We are one people with one home and one great flag.
"We are not defined by the color of our skin, the figure on our paycheck or the party of our politics. We are defined by our shared humanity -- by our citizenship in this magnificent nation, and by the love that fills our hearts," Trump added. "This is the future we can build together if we have the courage to act, the strength to endure and the patriotism to join together with true affection for our fellow citizen."
On Monday, the organization reaffirmed its long-held opposition to hate groups, describing them as "un-American."
The American Legion is a non-partisan service organization of "patriotic veterans organization devoted to mutual helpfulness," according to its website.
Many Legion members told the Reno Gazette they back the president, especially over problems with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
After his speech at the convention hall, Trump signed the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act, which modifies the appeals process for benefit claims. The act passed the House and Senate with unanimous support.
