Trump’s RNC speech recalculates assassination bid

Former President Donald Trump recounted the assassination attempt that nearly killed him during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Thursday night.

“I shouldn’t be here tonight,” said a somber Trump, a bandage covering his right ear, which was cut off by a bullet. “As you already know, the assassin’s bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life.”

“I stand before you by the grace of God almighty,” Trump said before reaching over and kissing the helmet of Fire Chief Corey Comperatore, who was shot and killed by Thomas Crooks in Butler Township, Pennsylvania, during a campaign rally on Saturday.

“As Americans, we are bound by a common fate and a common destiny. We rise together. Or we fall,” Trump said on the eve of the eighth anniversary of his first bid for the presidency.

“Despite such a heinous attack, we stand together tonight more determined than ever. Our resolve is unwavering and our purpose is unwavering – to create a government that serves the American people,” Trump said.

Trump also expressed his “gratitude to the American people for your outpouring of love and support after the assassination attempt.”

Trump told the convention audience, which included his wife Melania and his children and their partners, that “I’m going to tell you what happened and you’re never going to hear it from me a second time, because it’s too painful to say.” .

Trump said that during the rally in Butler, “I started talking very happy because I was talking about the great job my administration has been doing on immigration at the southern border.”

“Behind me and to the right was a large screen showing a map of the border crossings under my leadership,” he said. “To see the chart, I started to turn to my right and was about to start a further turn, which I’m lucky I didn’t, when I heard a loud hissing sound and felt something hit me very hard, in my right ear” .

“I said to myself, ‘Wow, what was that — it can only be a bullet — and I moved my right hand to my ear, and I brought it down, and my hand was full of blood,'” Trump said. “I immediately understood that it was very serious, that we were under attack, and in one movement, I proceeded to fall to the ground.”

Trump said his Secret Service protective detail rushed to the scene and covered him.

“There was blood everywhere, and yet, in a way, I felt very safe because I had God on my side,” Trump said.

“The amazing thing is that before the shooting, if I hadn’t moved my head at the last moment, the killer’s bullet would have hit its mark perfectly and I wouldn’t be with you tonight,” he said.

Trump said the “most incredible aspect” of the attack, which injured two other men in addition to killing Comperatore, was that the crowd of rally participants did not flee to escape the gunfire.

“Actually, a lot of them bravely, but automatically, stood up looking for where the sniper would be and then started pointing at him,” Trump said.

“No one ran, and by not stepping, many lives were saved,” he said. “But that’s not why they didn’t move – the reason is they knew I was in serious trouble, they saw all the blood and they thought I was dead and they just didn’t want to let me go. and you can see that love written on their faces.”

“When I got up, surrounded by the Secret Service, the crowd was confused because they thought I was dead and there was great sadness on their faces until I raised my right hand, looked at the thousands of people who were waiting breathlessly and started shouting ‘Fight, fight, fight !”

Later in the speech, Trump said, “I’m here tonight to present a vision for the entire nation.”

“To every citizen, whether you are young or old, male or female, Democrat, Republican or Independent, black or white, Asian or Hispanic, I extend to you a hand of faith and friendship.”

Throughout the speech, Trump only mentioned President Joe Biden by name a few times — a striking change from the personal attacks that have set the tone for many of his political speeches.

As of late Thursday, Biden remained the presumptive Democratic nominee. But the sheer fact of how rarely Trump mentioned Biden’s name underscored the very real possibility that Biden won’t be on the ballot in November.

Biden is under strong pressure from top Democrats and members of Congress to drop out of the race because of his dismal performance against Trump in a debate last month and growing concerns that he is less intellectual than in several years. before.

Later in the speech, Trump blasted the president’s performance over the past 3.5 years, particularly when it came to Biden’s border policy.

“Less than four years ago, I delivered to this administration the strongest border in American history,” Trump said. “The current administration has ended every single one of these great Trump policies that I put in place to seal the border.”

“The greatest invasion in history is taking place right here in our country – they’re coming from every corner of the earth, not just from South America, but from Africa, Asia and the Middle East – they’re coming from everywhere, and this government is doing nothing to stop them,” Trump said.

He said the United States has “an inflationary crisis that is making life unaffordable, destroying the incomes of low-income workers and families.”

Trump promised at the RNC that if elected “the United States will be respected again.”

“No nation shall challenge our power. No enemy shall challenge our power.”

Trump’s call for national unity and an end to “discord and division” comes nearly four years after he refused to accept the results of the 2020 election, which he lost as a one-term margin to Biden, falsely claiming he was the victim of widespread ballot tampering. .

Trump, who has demonized Democrats and other opponents as fascists and communists, led a rally on January 6, 2021, where he urged supporters to march on the US Capitol to oppose the certification of Biden’s victory.

Trump supporters then stormed the Capitol, storming the halls of Congress and injuring more than 100 police officers as they delayed confirmation of his defeat by Biden for hours. Trump’s vice president, Mike Pence, who presided over a joint session of Congress that day, was hidden by the mob that Trump refused for hours to clear.

In his speech on Thursday, Trump drew on an apocalyptic vision of the world, as he has done for years. But he delivered the vision with noticeably less fire than in the past.

“Here is an international crisis the likes of which the world has rarely seen,” Trump said. “War now rages in Europe and the Middle East, a growing specter of conflict hangs over Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines and all of Asia, and our planet teeters on the brink of World War III, and this will be a war like no other other”.

“It’s time for a change,” Trump said. “We cannot sustain another four years of this government.”