New York: After the assassination attempt that has the Democrats completely nonplussed, Donald Trump has rewritten his convention speech that will call a new effort at national unity in a country further polarised by the shooting.
In Milwaukee, as the Republican National Convention kicks off the delegates are set to officially nominate Trump for the presidency. In an exclusive interview with the Washington Examiner, a day after being nicked in his right ear by a sniper’s bullet, Trump said he wanted to take advantage of the historic moment and draw the country together.
He told the Examiner: “The speech I was going to give on Thursday was going to be a humdinger. Had this not happened, this would have been one of the most incredible speeches” aimed mostly at the policies of President Joe Biden.
“Honestly, it’s going to be a whole different speech now.” He has switched, he said, from planning to excite his voter base to one that demonstrates his belief that the attack on him at a rally in Pennsylvania had changed the election campaign entirely. Trump noted that he was saved from death because he turned from the crowd to look at a screen showing data he was using in his speech.
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“That reality is just setting in,” he told the Examiner. “I rarely look away from the crowd. Had I not done that in that moment, well, we would not be talking today, would we?” Trump said his speech will meet the moment that history demands. “It is a chance to bring the country together. I was given that chance.”
Former US President On Raising His Hand
Trump said his decision to raise his hand as the Secret Service was leading him off stage was to let the people know he was OK, “And that America goes on, we go forward, that we are strong,” he said.
Trump said when he stood up and saw the crowd had not moved he needed to tell them that he and the country were going to be OK.
“The energy coming from the people there in that moment, they just stood there; it’s hard to describe what that felt like, but I knew the world was looking. I knew that history would judge this, and I knew I had to let them know we are OK.”
Conspiracy theories are doing the rounds with some Republicans blaming President Biden and his supporters for the attack, while some Democrats blamed Trump for encouraging political violence. Trump, speaking to the New York Post while en route to Milwaukee for the convention, said he is "supposed to be dead" and called the assassination attempt on him a "surreal experience."
Saved By Luck Or By God
In one of his first interviews since the incident, the 78-year-old told media that he felt that he had been saved "by luck or by God". Trump wore a white bandage that covered his right ear but his aides did not allow any photographs to be taken.
“The doctor at the hospital said he never saw anything like this, he called it a miracle," Trump added.
In the aftermath of the assassination attempt, Democrats are treading cautiously, navigating a complex landscape of political ramifications and moral considerations, The Hill reported. President Biden, out of respect for Trump and in response to the tragic events, has suspended all political activities, including the cessation of political advertisements. This pause has prompted introspection among Biden's allies and party operatives, who are grappling with the potential impact of this dramatic turn of events on the presidential race.
The debate over Biden's candidacy, particularly concerning his age and mental acuity, has been also temporarily shelved. With that, Biden has assumed the role of consoler-in-chief, maintaining a stance of national unity.
In a prime-time national address from the Oval Office, Biden said, “I want to speak to you tonight about the need for us to lower the temperature in our politics and to remember, while we may disagree, we are not enemies we are neighbours, friends, co-workers, citizens, and most importantly, we are fellow Americans.”
Still A Mystery
A full day after the shooting, the gunman's motive remained a mystery, with investigators saying they believe he acted alone. President Biden has ordered an independent security review of the attack, which killed a bystander and critically wounded two others.
The FBI was investigating the shooting as a potential act of domestic terrorism. The Secret Service is investigating how a gunman armed with an AR-style rifle was able to get close enough to shoot and injure the former President, a monumental failure of one of the agency's core duties.
It is learnt that a local police officer did attempt to confront the would-be assassin Thomas Matthews Crooks on the rooftop, moments before the gunfire rang out, but that he ducked for cover when the rifle was trained on him.
Crooks, 20, got into position after climbing a ladder and crawling across the roof of a business shed around 100 feet away from where Trump; was speaking.
A spokesman for the Secret Service has said that the securing the perimeter of the event is the responsibility of local law enforcement. The US Secret Service has been under scrutiny since Saturday – with the FBI saying it's "surprising" a gunman was able to open fire at the rally before being killed.
