Donald Trump took the stage in Milwaukee with the confidence of a man saved by God and whose opponent was being called to abandon his reelection bid.
While President Joe Biden was recovering from COVID in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and possibly considering leaving the race, Trump was at the Republican National Convention in battleground Wisconsin, speaking to the nation in prime time for more than an hour and a half.
“I’m running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America,” said Trump, who has been criticized by opponents for too often alienating half the country.
Trump has built a brand by ripping apart his opponents in politics, court and business. But on Thursday night, his tone was — at first — more personal and spiritual.
“I had God on my side,” Trump said, speaking five days after an assassin’s bullet came within a quarter of an inch of ending his life. He said he could tell the story of his assassination attempt only once because it would be too painful to share twice. “I’m not supposed to be here tonight. I stand before you, here in this arena, only by the grace of Almighty God,” Trump said to cheers.
He honored Corey Comperatore, who was killed at the rally while shielding his family from a 20-year-old sniper’s gunfire. Trump kissed Comperatore’s fire helmet while on stage. The former president said he talked today to the two men who were severely injured Saturday and are doing much better now. Trump said he’s helped to raise $6.3 million for the victims.
“They’re warriors,” he said before asking the crowd to observe a moment of silence for Comperatore.
The former president began his speech with an advantage. He’s ahead in the polls for the first time in a presidential race. Legal rulings have recently gone his way. Biden has been flailing for three weeks. And Trump has an outpouring of support and sympathy since surviving the shooting on Saturday.
He seemed to know it. His speech, at times, sounded more like an inaugural address than a nomination speech. And with renewed political power, he called on Democrats to stop “partisan witch hunts.” Trump pointed to recent legal decisions in his favor and called for other investigations to end.
His tone was softer for the first half of his speech, much unlike the “fight, fight, fight” mantra after the assassination attempt and unlike most of the bombastic political rallies he’s had for the last eight years.
“Discord and division in our society must be healed,” Trump said.
At least he felt that way for 30 minutes. And then he remembered “crazy Nancy Pelosi,” admonishing the former House speaker and blaming Democrats for the number of subpoenas his sons, Don Jr. and Eric, have received in the legal cases against their father.
House Democrats impeached Trump twice during his first term, and he was acquitted twice with the help of Senate Republicans. Democratic leaders and many voters have said Trump is a threat to democracy.
On Thursday night, he said he is the one who is protecting democracy. He said it is Democrats who are “destroying our country.” Trump described the 2024 election as “the most important election” in U.S. history.
While the first half hour of his speech struck a more conciliatory tone, the rest of Trump’s speech was a greatest hits album marked by hyperbolic warnings about America and false claims of election fraud. The unsubstantiated claims of a stolen election likely repelled voters in swing states, as well as painting a dark picture of an America that’s facing a migrant “invasion” and is on the verge of World War III.
And on a night when he had one of the biggest platforms and opportunities of his career, he apparently couldn’t resist doing his bit about “the late, great Hannibal Lecter,” referring to the serial killer from “The Silence of the Lambs.” He also praised Hungarian leader Viktor Orban and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. Of the latter, Trump said, “It’s nice to get along with somebody who has a lot of nuclear weapons.”
After nearly an hour of his speech, which ultimately ended with the big, bold claims repeated in his rallies and not like the unity speech that was reported, I realized Trump and Biden have more in common than they’d like. In this election, both have had nights when they should have quit while they were ahead.
Candy Woodall is the opinion editor at The Baltimore Sun. She wants to know what you thought of former President Trump’s speech. She can be reached at [email protected].
