Trump’s perspective may have changed since his near-death experience, but the happy warrior’s America First vision remains locked in and in focus
Donald Trump walked onto the Republican National Convention stage Thursday night a transformed man, imbued with the kind of perspective found only at the edges of life and death. The former president — who, at 78, seems to be campaigning harder than ever — looks to be even more the man on a mission, shaped by a strong sense of providence.
Transformed, yes, but ever Trump.
For those thinking Donald John Trump would come out the other side of a harrowing near-death experience as the next Mahatma Gandhi, the GOP’s three-time presidential nominee’s acceptance speech disabused such a notion. Some undecided Wisconsin voters performing as CNN’s latest political focus group were among the heartbroken.
Trump’s perspective may have changed in the days since a gunman in Pennsylvania came within a half-inch of assassinating him, but the happy warrior’s America First vision remains locked in and in focus.
‘I’m Not Supposed to Be Here’
Still, the vibe of divine intervention that pervaded this week’s convention in downtown Milwaukee clung to Trump like crazy sticks to Joy Reid. The former president opened his 90-minute speech with gratitude and grace.
“So tonight, with faith and devotion, I proudly accept your nomination for president of the United States of America,” Trump said to uproarious applause and the crowd at the packed Fiserv Forum chanting his iconic name.
He was, at times, philosophical, grappling with a very present existential question. Trump recounted in vivid detail being shot, the blood, the fear on the faces of rallygoers, and the Secret Service agents quickly surrounding him and protecting him from further harm. How a turn of the head to glance at a chart was the difference between an ear wound and a dead presidential candidate. He told his fellow Republicans he would only share the story on a campaign stage this one time. It was too painful to tell again, he said.
“I’m not supposed to be here tonight. I’m not supposed to be here,” he somberly said. Someone shouted back, “Yes you are,” a sentiment quickly chanted by thousands in the crowd.
Trump smiled, shook his head, and said, “Thank you, but I’m not.”
“And I’ll tell you, I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of Almighty God,” he said, later explaining that the near-death experience filled him with the sense that God is on his side.