MILWAUKEE — ANALYSIS: The third Republican coronation of Donald Trump is complete, this time with talk of divine intervention as he was praised as “fearless” and a “hero” by two professional fighters and a “badass” by a rock star.
The uncharacteristically mellow 45th president was serenaded Thursday night at the Republican National Convention here with several standing ovations as delegates hailed his potentially script-flipping message of unity, just days after a would-be assassin nearly took his life at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Trump accepted the GOP presidential nomination for the third consecutive election cycle, vowing to deliver “confidence, strength and hope.”
“We rise together or we fall apart. I am running to be president for all of America, not half,” he said, conjuring thunderous applause when he added: “So tonight, with faith and devotion, I proudly accept your nomination” as the crowd erupted in a “Trump! Trump! Trump!” chant.
“Let me begin this evening by expressing my gratitude to the American people for your outpouring of love and support following the assassination attempt at my rally on Saturday,” he said. “As you already know, the assassin’s bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life. So many people have asked me what happened, and therefore, I’ll tell you what happened, and you’ll never hear it from me a second time.”
He recounted the attack, but said he would only tell it once “because it’s actually too painful to tell.”
“I hear a loud, whizzing sound and felt something hit me really, really hard. … I immediately knew it was very serious, that we were under attack,” he said, speaking with less vigor than during his pre-assassination attempt rallies. “I felt very safe because I had God on my side. … I’m not supposed to be here tonight.” (One man in the Fiserv Forum crowd yelled out at him, “No! God wants you here!”)
The former president, speaking more softly and slowly than usual and without his typical bombast, led a moment of silence for Corey Comperatore, a former Buffalo firefighter who died at the rally protecting his family. “There is no great love than to lay down one’s life for others,” Trump said following a moment of silence for Comperatore. His voice appeared to break more than once, in very off-brand moments.
The nominee pledged to “turn our nation around” and said “this election should be about the issues facing our country, and how to make America successful, safe and free and great again.”
“In an age when our politics too often divide us, now is the time to remember that we are all fellow citizens — we are one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,” Trump said.
But the once-convicted Trump did contend, without evidence, that the Biden Justice Department has been “weaponizing” the Justice Department against him. He called for that to cease. The usual Trump did flash, like when he referred to “crazy” Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former Democratic speaker with whom he feuded while in office. He also quipped to the cheesehead-clad Wisconsin delegation, after noting a massive ad buy there, that “I’m trying to buy your vote.”
He deemed the Biden administration “incompetent,” and a “tragedy and failure.” And — describing plans for new tax cuts and more import tariffs — he promised to bolster the economy, public safety, illegal migration, high prices, energy prices and education. “We will drill, baby, drill,” he said to a loud cheer, also vaguely promising to curb inflation on day one of a new term.
Trump’s lower-octane appearance came after GOP lawmakers and delegates all week predicted, as one put it, a “softer and more subdued” address. The somber tone came minutes after rock singer Kid Rock performed and urged the crowd to yell “fight, fight” echoing Trump’s message after the assassination attempt.
During his one term in office, Trump largely pulled America back from the world stage. But he signaled circumstances would require him to engage, if elected.
“I will end every single international crisis that the current administration has created,” he said, “including the horrible war with Russia and Ukraine, and the war caused by the attack on Israel.”
Trump did not dominate the political world on Thursday, however. President Joe Biden was isolating at his beach residence in Delaware while dealing with mild COVID-19 symptoms. But he also was reportedly listening to urges from some top Democratic figures that he would lose to Trump and cost his party control of the House and Senate.
Biden’s deputy campaign manager said Thursday morning that “he is and will be the Democratic nominee” but the roster of Democrats asking him to drop out continued to grow Thursday night.
“I have worked with President Biden when it has made Montana stronger, and I’ve never been afraid to stand up to him when he is wrong,” Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said in a statement released bout 75 minutes before Trump was due to speak. “And while I appreciate his commitment to public service and our country, I believe President Biden should not seek re-election to another term.”
Still, lawmakers and delegates on Thursday were in a jovial mood as they moved around the vast convention space, expressing confidence Trump would become the 47th president.
A few hours before Trump’s acceptance speech, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., told CQ Roll Call he expected the former president to be “direct, as always,” adding: “Everything’s going to be focused on the future of our country — all Americans, not just not just Republicans, but all Americans.”
‘Whatcha gonna do, brother?’
Giles Alston, a political analysts for Oxford Analytica — which is owned by CQ Roll Call’s parent company FiscalNote — said they had solid reason to feel confident just over 16 weeks from Election Day.
“This year’s RNC has effectively stressed Trump’s dominance of the party,” Alston wrote in a email brief, adding Trump’s selection of 39-year-old freshman Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate displays confidence about the state of the 2024 race.
“The selection of Vance, chosen less to strengthen Republican prospects in the election than to amplify and enforce Trump’s polices in a subsequent administration, shows that Trump has no need to compromise with any of the party’s constituencies, as he needed to in 2016,” Alston wrote. “Vance may provide a small boost in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the three crucial battleground states neighboring his native Ohio.”
And according to the Oxford analyst, Trump’s leaning on God as a shield from Thomas Crooks’ bullets likely will have a political benefit: “Running through this narrative is a messianic element that shows divine protection of the only person capable of saving the country, overshadowing morally questionable aspects of his behavior.”
The University of Virginia’s Center for Politics on Thursday delivered good news for Trump.
It projected Trump, should the election be held today, would win the Electoral College, with 312 votes to Biden’s 226 — a shift from its last forecast of Trump merely leading 251-226, with toss-up votes dwindling from 61 to 30. And while there is a push among prominent Democratic figures to replace Biden atop their ticket, UVa analysts offered this sobering assessment: “One cannot just automatically assume a replacement candidate, most likely Vice President Kamala Harris, would do better than Biden.”
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Thursday afternoon said during an event here that Trump “is in a great place” following the shooting, adding: “In his heart and in his head, he’s in a place where you would want a future president to be in a moment that we’re facing for the country. … The [former] president is weighing the history of the moment, he’s weighing his responsibility.
“And I am so looking forward to his address tonight because I think it’s going to be intense. I think it’s going to be historic. I think he’s going to talk about unifying the country,” Johnson added. “And he’s the person who could deliver that, and that is going to be a very important moment for all of us. … I believe he believes in God.”
Other than Trump, professional wrestler Hulk Hogan (real name: Terry Bollea), the last WWF champion and the first WWE champion, got some of the biggest applause of the night — including when he performed his signature shirt rip-off. Under his black tank top was a red one with “Trump Vance 2024” printed on it.
“I can no longer stay silent. I’m here because Donald Trump is a real American hero. And I’m proud to support my hero as the next president of the United States,” Hogan said before Ultimate Fighting Champion CEO Dana White also hailed Trump. “You know something, he’s going to win in November, and we’re all going to be champions when he wins.
He even delivered a version of his signature catch phrase: “Whatcha gonna do when Donald Trump and all the Trump-a-maniacs run wild on you, brother?!”
Briana Reilly contributed to this report.
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