MILWAUKEE – The Republican National Convention celebrated former President Donald Trump not just as a party leader but a living martyr who survived a would-be assassin’s bullet and is ready to work for everyday Americans after a sweeping victory in November.
The portrayals of unity, including in Trump's first speech since he was injured in the assassination attempt last Saturday, sought to erase the image of a man whose presidency often swirled in chaos and infighting and ended with a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Democrats have repeatedly wielded images of that day to try to thwart his return and have spotlighted his recurring use of inflammatory and hardline rhetoric.
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Inside the Milwaukee arena, he was “an American folk hero” and “strong commander in chief,” alive because of a “miracle.” To the left, he remains a threat to democracy, with authoritarian designs.
There's plenty of campaigning left between now and the election, so the effectiveness of the competing messages remains to be seen. But it's been a striking four days for a Republican Party that over three presidential elections has been reshaped by Trump's personality and his politics.
Here are some takeaways from the closing stanza of the GOP gathering in Wisconsin.
Trump promised to serve ‘all of America’ (But ...)
Trump, who has not won the popular vote in two tries, opened with the sweeping tone common to inaugural addresses.
“The discord and division in our society must be healed. As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a shared destiny,” he said. “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.”
It was a sharp departure from his first convention acceptance in Cleveland eight years ago, when he painted a dark portrait of American life and declared, “I alone can fix it.”
It seemed at first that Trump was trying to embody a less partisan, less caustic version of himself — still a giant personality, but one that uses his stature for the country's benefit. Yet as quickly as he called for an end of the “demonization of political enemies,” he turned the issue exclusively toward Democrats. He reprised his accusations that his criminal conviction and other prosecutions were because of the weaponization of the justice system. And he answered the critique that he is upending democracy by insisting, “I am the one saving democracy.”
Republicans in the convention hall embraced the idea. But it was aimed at what's almost certainly a more circumspect crowd: swing voters and sporadic voters, those people Republicans will need in order to have the kind of sweeping victory they talked about in Milwaukee.
Trump tried to humanize his image by telling of assassination attempt
The former president spoke in vivid detail of his experience being injured and nearly killed on Saturday.
“You will never hear it from me a second time because it's actually too painful,” he said before recalling at length a “beautiful day” that took a fateful turn. He recalled “a loud whizzing sound” and realized his ear was injured. He praised Secret Service agents, avoiding any mention of the criticism the agency is taking in Washington.
“I felt serene,” he said.
“I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of Almighty God,” Trump continued, echoing the same idea of divine intervention that flowed freely from the stage during the convention. “I'm not supposed to be here tonight,” he said, with delegates responding with a chant of “Yes you are! Yes you are!”
On stage was the uniform of the retired fire chief, Corey Comperatore, who was killed behind Trump. It was powerful stagecraft and storytelling. When Trump returns to his post-convention rally circuit, it will be notable to watch whether the former presidents sticks to his claim that he will not talk again about the assassination attempt that shocked the nation.
The brand man rebranded — with limits
Trump, the name and the man, has been ubiquitous for decades. Americans and the world recognized those gold letters, T-R-U-M-P, and watched him say, “You're fired!” on his hit show “The Apprentice” long before Trump first ran for president. He took over the GOP and won the presidency in 2016 as the unapologetically bombastic political outsider.
The convention program sought to frame the former president as a softer, more compassionate man who helps people individually and is determined to help Americans across the country. Alina Habba, a Trump attorney, talked of “his character, his kindness, his commitment to saving this great country.” Personal friend Steve Witkoff described Trump as a lover of music, “a man who in the darkest hours shows up, listens and always acts.”
Between speeches Thursday, videos of Trump filled the arena with another tone. Democrats, a stern-looking Trump said, “are destroying our country. ... They do cheat. And, frankly, it's the only thing they do well. ... Swamp them — they can't cheat.”
Leading up to his speech, Trump called on a number of figures from the world of professional fighting, including retired wrestler Hulk Hogan and Linda McMahon, the former president and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. She made perhaps the most overt attempt to straddle the competing messages: “Donald Trump is not only a fighter, ladies and gentleman,” she said. “He is a good man.”
It perhaps added up to a confusing message.
Certainly, you can square images of an aggressive politician and a compassionate man who loves music, his friends, his family and even Americans he does not know.
But there's a difference in selling Trump as someone who leverages his determination on behalf of those “everyday Americans” and one who uses hyperbolic attacks on whole classes of Americans and still fights over a presidential election that he lost. Voters who believe Trump's false assertions about 2020 and relish his broadsides are already in his corner. He's trying to grow his coalition, or at least he needs to if Republicans want to have the kind of November sweep they've talked about in Milwaukee.
Short on details of another term
Trump made sweeping promises to end inflation and secure the border. He said “Republicans have a plan” to bring down energy prices “very, very rapidly.” He didn't say what it is.
He said he'd “drill, baby, drill” and “reduce your taxes.” He suggested falsely that Democrats want to raise taxes “by four times” what they are now.
The most specific he got was promising to roll back Biden administration efforts to combat climate change, direct all infrastructure spending to “roads and bridges,” and impose steep tariffs.
GOP leaders said ahead of the convention that Trump should lay out a clear vision of what a second presidency would look like. If he did that, it was only in the broadest strokes, mostly using crowd-pleasing talking points.
Trump barely mentioned Biden or Harris
Many Republican speakers this week made a point not just to blast President Joe Biden but also Vice President Kamala Harris. It's an obvious move to position the party for the possibility that the 81-year-old Biden ends his campaign and Democrats turn to his second-in-command.
Trump himself barely acknowledged the Democratic incumbents. “I'm only going to say it one time,” he said, after mentioning Biden by name. At another point, he said merely "this person.”
That approach could be because of how much Democrats are in flux, leaving Trump unsure of who he will actually face in the fall. It could just as easily reflect how confident Trump is that he will win. Perhaps he believes he does not need to take on Biden any longer at all.