Usually, we see Donald Trump the firebrand, the populist, the reality star. But on Thursday, in his first speech since his brush with an assassin’s bullet, the former president became the resolute grandfather — still in the game, but clearly humbled after escaping death by only two centimetres.
“I am not supposed to be here tonight. I’m not supposed to be here,” he told the Republican National Convention on its final night Thursday. Loudly, the crowd chanted back: “Yes you are!” But he insisted otherwise.
“Thank you. But I’m not. I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty God. Many people say it was a providential moment.” It was one of a number of emotional lines delivered that evening.
The convention, up to this point, seemed much like a procession of clients lining up to pay homage to their high patron, almost deifying him. Kind words about the man were said by a union leader, an e-stripper, a wrestling matriarch, a Hulk (Hogan), a granddaughter, a talk show host and of course, a good many politicos.
Watching from his red imperial box overlooking the stage, Trump may have even felt like he was witnessing his own celebration of life — and perhaps shuddered, mentally, at how close the event was to being just that.
Trump’s own keynote started off with his new unity-candidate tone. He invoked “confidence, strength and hope” before accepting the Republican nomination. Mending division was a theme that surfaced throughout his hour-and-a-half at the podium.
“The discord and division in our society must be healed. As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a shared destiny. We rise together. Or we fall apart.
“I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America.”
He went on to recount the events of Saturday — his survival of the assassination attempt — for the last time, he said, because the story is “too painful to tell.” He described getting shot, the miraculous head-turn that saved his skull, the blood. Ever the natural populist, he held the greatest admiration for the crowd.
“In almost all cases, and when even a single bullet is fired — and we had many — crowds run for the exits or stampede, but not in this case.”
“Nobody ran, and by not stampeding, many lives were saved… They knew I was in serious trouble, they saw all of the blood, and thought I was dead, and they just didn’t want to leave me.”
At this point, the camera operators kept a distant view, offering a pinch of privacy. Though it wasn’t overwhelming, emotion was there. Trump went on to honour the rallygoer who was killed in the assassination attempt, holding a moment of silence for the man.
From there, it was on to the content of a regular Trumpian set, albeit more subdued. Iran sanctions, border enforcement, inflation, trade deals, the cost of energy, oil, tax cuts, infrastructure, the U.S. EV mandate, the auto industry, illegal migration. Routine topics.
But the snappy taglines weren’t as present, and the name-calling had gone from boil to simmer. Indeed, there was no “Sleepy Joe,” just “that person,” “the other guy,” “our opponents,” “this administration,” and, briefly, “Biden.”
With the Democrats in tatters, and on the verge of turfing the president for a functional candidate, Trump is vying for the common-sense middle ground. We’ve had a sense of that since Sunday, post-shooting, when Trump told the New York Post he “had all prepared an extremely tough speech, really good, all about the corrupt, horrible administration,” which he threw away, mindful of uniting the country. Now, we’ve seen what that looks like.
“Whether you are young or old, man or woman, Democrat, Republican, or Independent, black or white, Asian or Hispanic, I extend to you a hand of loyalty and friendship,” went one of Trump’s bids for harmony.
“We are Americans. Ambition is our heritage. Greatness is our birthright. But as long as our energies are spent fighting each other, our destiny will remain out of reach,” went another.
It doesn’t seem like Trump is muzzling himself. It’s more that his fire, though still flickering, has cooled since Saturday. Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson noted the change in his speech earlier that evening as well.
This could all be a temporary phase that is forgotten if (when) the Democrats stoke the coals with a new candidate for November’s ticket. Alternatively, if the serenity sticks, this could be Trump’s maturation into a mainstream vigilant patriarch.
National Post