Donald Trump’s personality is either his greatest asset or his worst trait, depending on who you talk to. Republicans revere the fearless leader and are refreshed by his unabashed candidness. Democrats, who are often the object of his frankness, call him a “bully,” abusive, and offensive. There is very little middle ground with someone as unique as Trump. You either love him or hate him.
However, at the RNC Thursday night, America saw a different side of Trump. Many spectators agree that Trump appears to be a changed man after the assassination attempt. He was humbled, and emanated gratitude and tenderness. There were moments when he seemed emotionally moved and touched. When he retold the story of the attempt, which he said he would only tell once because of how painful it was to recall, no one could deny the conviction in his voice and the emotion on his face.
Tucker Carlson is one of the people who have described this turning point.
I watched the video of what happened in Butler, Pennsylvania, about fifteen—fifty times… The more I watched it, the more it struck me that everything was different after that moment. Everything. This convention is different. The nation is different. The world is different. Donald Trump is different.
When Trump recalled the story of the assassination attempt, one of the most moving details was how he remembered that the crowd did not run when the bullets were shot. Not a soul moved, which is actually quite peculiar for a large crowd during a shooting. Trump believes the people stayed there with him, not leaving his side in his most harrowing hour. He said when he was on the stage, under the Secret Service agents who rushed to protect him, he felt peace and safety because he knew God was on his side. An experience like this marks a person forever.
David Botkins, a member of the Virginian Republican Party’s State Central Committee, accurately summed up the change in Trump’s character and what that could mean for his presidency.
I think the policies are going to be the same, the conservatism is going to be the same, but there may be a tenderness and a compassion and a gratitude and a respect for divine providence that will inform the tone with which he conducts himself as president for the next four years.
Will this new softened version of Trump swing voters who have in the past agreed with him politically but maintained reservations about his character? Time will tell. I believe that Trump has earned the trust of many skeptics through his track record as an incredible, conservative president. This is how he won me over. This new version we are seeing will help even more people to put their trust in him as a leader.
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy commented on the change we would see in Trump before he took the stage. He, too, sees it as an opportunity for more people to get behind the conservative movement.
I do know that I talked to him the day after the assassination [attempt] and I do think you see a different Trump. Many times, when you have something so tragic and so terrible, some good things come out of it. I actually believe that, after talking to President Trump a couple of times after that, he is actually a changed man, even a better man for it. You look at how humble he’s been coming in and listening; you watch his face listen to his granddaughter. I think he understands even greater the value of life… I think you’re going to hear a much different speech, and it’s an opportunity for those who haven’t looked about voting for Trump to vote for him.
Trump is going to win the November election and be the leader of the greatest nation on earth. What was meant to take him out—an assassination—may have made him a better leader than he ever would have been before. There is nothing more fitting and no vindication greater in the face of his adversaries.
