The Stream

Given a Second Chance at Life, Trump Opens His Heart and Makes the Most of His Moment

"Every single moment we have on earth is a gift from God."

By Al Perrotta Published on July 19, 2024 •

Al Perrotta

“I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of Almighty God.” — Donald Trump

For the third consecutive convention of the Republican National Committee, Donald Trump has accepted the nomination to be the party’s presidential candidate. However, last night’s acceptance speech was unlike any other — ever. Unlike any Trump we’d seen ever. Yes, much of the long, sometimes rambling address wasn’t much different those given at a Trump rally, especially as he got going. However, the first section of the speech will be seared into the hearts of all who heard it.

A subdued and unusually emotional Donald Trump described in harrowing, riveting detail Saturday’s assassination attempt.

“Too Painful to Tell” a Second Time

“I’ll tell you exactly what happened,” Trump warned, “and you’ll never hear it from me a second time, because it’s too painful to tell.” 

What? Donald Trump admitting weakness?

As the arena fell silent, the GOP nominee recounted his extremely close call, the “loud whizzing sound” and getting hit “really, really hard.” How without that slight turn of his head to look at a graphic showing how illegal immigration began soaring the minute Biden took office, “I would not be here.”

“I am not supposed to be here,” he said.

“Yes, you are!” the crowd chanted in response, “Yes, you are!” 

A sense of divine purpose and intervention was woven throughout the telling. “There was blood pouring everywhere, and yet in a certain way I felt very safe, because I had God on my side. I felt that.”

Judging from his countenance throughout the convention, a new amazing grace has settled upon him. 

“If the events of last Saturday make anything clear, it is that every single moment we have on earth is a gift from God. We have to make the most of every day for the people and country we love.”

The former president described feeling serene. Then he noticed the crowd had not scattered, as is usual in a mass shooting. They were not running or stampeding, Trump explained, because of their love and concern for him. His supporters thought he had been killed. They didn’t want to leave him. “There was great, great sorrow on their faces. I wanted to do something to let them know I was okay.”

As we know, what he did is already the stuff of legend. He got up, raised his fist in the air, and yelled “Fight, fight, fight!”

A Kiss for a Hero

Trump movingly spoke of the man who was killed, Corey Comperatore, and the two patriots who were wounded. He walked stage right to a display of Comperatore’s fireman’s jacket and helmet. Then leaned down and gently kissed the slain hero’s helmet.

Then, after leading a moment of silence, he said:

“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for others. This is the spirit that forged America in her darkest hours, and this is the love that will lead America back to the summit of human achievement and greatness. This is what we need. Despite such a heinous attack, we unite this evening, more determined than ever. I am more determined than ever, and so are you. So is everybody.”

In the moment, it did not sound like Trumpian hype or a speechwriter’s line, but a truth very real. Tucker Carlson had spoken of it earlier in the night.

Something has changed. 

Reaching Out

Earlier this week, Trump’s campaign and family promised the former president’s rewritten speech would stress unity. The shooting had changed his heart. He was not going to mention Joe Biden by name, focusing instead on issues and ideas. He slipped up only once.

Several times, and in several ways, Trump reached out with uncharacteristic humility while preaching hope. “With great humility I ask you to be excited about the future of our country.”

“To every citizen, 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.

“The discord and division in our society must be healed,” he said. “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.”

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Toward the end of his speech, Donald Trump returned to this theme: his brush with death and this “world of miracles.”

“Just a few short days ago, my journey with you nearly ended. And yet here we are tonight, all gathered together, talking about the future, promise, and renewal of America. We live in a world of miracles. None of us knows God’s plan, or where life’s adventure will take us. But if the events of last Saturday make anything clear, it is that every single moment we have on earth is a gift from God. We have to make the most of every day for the people and country we love.”

“Tonight I ask for your partnership, your support, and I am humbly asking for your vote. Every day I will strive to honor the trust you have placed in me and I will never, ever let you down.

“To all of the forgotten men and women who have been neglected, abandoned, and left behind, you will be forgotten no longer. Nothing will sway us. Nothing will slow us. And no one will ever stop us.”

No, not even a would-be assassin.

And He’s Back

Though Trump started the speech somberly and with a tenderness he rarely shows in public, once the pain of reliving the assassination attempt was behind him, Trump revved up into familiar, energetic form, veering off script and offering asides, both hysterically funny and lethally serious.

He riffed on how speaker Franklin Graham has been begging him, “Please don’t use foul language,” which led to a story about his father taking him to see Billy Graham at Yankee Stadium. “He was a big rally guy too,” Trump said mischievously.

But the former commander-in-chief also gave our enemies fair warning: “And to the entire world, we want our hostages back — and they better be back before I assume office, or you will be paying a very big price.”

Trump also somehow managed a moment that put both a laugh in your belly and a lump in your throat.

While talking about immigration, the chart he was displaying when he got shot flashed on the screens above him. “Last time I put up that chart I never really got to look at it,” he said. “But without that chart I would not be here today.”

Which gets to our final thought.

He Delivered a Speech Five Days After Being Shot

Should Trump have stayed closer to the written text of his speech? Yes. Just because he has the energy to talk into the wee hours even after having part of his ear blown off doesn’t mean the rest of us do. Did he meander down roads he didn’t need to go down? Sure. But that’s Trump. If Donald Trump ever gave a speech where he stayed on script, we’d assume the person at the podium was a body double. 

Yet, Donald Trump did what he needed to do more than anything else in this campaign: He showed his humanity. He revealed to voters on the fence, or those with an ear to finally listen, the softer side of his personality. To show he’s not only the man of the mean tweets, but a man with a huge heart humbled in recent days.

He also answered the question: Did his very close call with death change Donald J. Trump?

From his unforgettable description of the shooting and frequent references to how God spared him, to his determined vow to serve all Americans and humble request to earn their vote, last night’s speech leaves the answer a resounding “Yes.”

Trump seems better for it. And by extension, the American people will be better for it.

 

Al Perrotta is The Stream’s Washington bureau chief, coauthor with John Zmirak of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration, and coauthor of the counterterrorism memoir Hostile Intent: Protecting Yourself Against Terrorism.

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