It’s hard to tell what’s going on in someone’s head. But after seeing Trump about 20 times with my own eyes, the former president’s entrance at the Republican convention stood out. Substantial.
The white bandage on his ear reminded him that he was just millimeters away from dying. Trump looked somehow subdued, despite the utter frenzy going on around him.
Shooting at Donald Trump
Trump showed up with a bandaged ear – after the assassination attempt
Conspiracy theories spread – risk of increased division
His son Don Jr. cried. Lots of delegates from different corners of the US as well. And even Donald Trump himself looked really emotional to the tune of Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA.
Perhaps it is not so strange. A few days ago, it was the song that was close to being the last he heard in his life.
Full speed – against the working-class voters
Trump said nothing during his appearance in the VIP section of the convention. But in several interviews after the assassination attempt, he has said that he now wants the United States to become a more united country.
Exactly what he means by that remains to be seen, but perhaps he means that he wants to attract Biden voters to the Republicans. Because it was noticed. For the first time in decades, the leader of the Teamsters union spoke at a Republican convention, invited by Donald Trump.
Trump is in desperate need of support from working-class and union-affiliated Americans in order to win states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, where Joe Biden won in 2020.
Newfound loyalty
Trump’s choice of vice presidential candidate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, was an attempt to do the same.
Vance, who rose to fame with his autobiography Hillbilly Elegy about his poor background and road to becoming a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, has had a meteoric career in politics, becoming a senator just two years ago.
He was elected both for his newfound loyalty to Trump (Vance called Trump “Maybe America’s Hitler” in 2016), and for his ability to galvanize voters who feel forgotten.
Whether Trump’s seemingly changed rhetoric indicates shock from near death, or whether it is in fact new insights and a genuine desire to lead the political evolution toward an America united across party lines, only the future can tell.