"Tonight, here in this room is a young man who truly loves our police," Trump said. "His name is DJ Daniel, he is 13 years old, and he has always dreamed of becoming a police officer. In 2018, DJ was diagnosed with brain cancer. Doctors gave him five months to live, but that was more than six years ago."

Daniel's story received a warm welcome from much of the crowd, although some Democrats remained seated as Mr Trump spoke about the boy.

The president recounted the inspiring journey of Daniel and his father, who worked to make his dream of becoming a police officer come true. Daniel was made an honorary member of the local police department. But Trump had an even bigger surprise for him on stage.

"Tonight, DJ, we are going to give you the greatest honor of all," Trump declared. "I am asking our new Secret Service Director, Sean Curran, to officially make you an agent of the United States."

Mr. Curran then walked over to Daniel and handed him a custom-made Secret Service badge. “Thank you, DJ,” Mr. Trump said. The crowd applauded wildly and chanted his name.

But on social media, some people noticed a lukewarm response from Democrats. Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer commented on X: "If Democrats can't clap for a brave 13-year-old boy who wants to become a police officer, then there's something wrong with them."

Hoai Phuong (according to Fox News, NYP)