On Saturday, former President Donald Trump was struck by a would-be assassin’s bullet that came within an inch of killing him . Recent comments by the former president indicate that this experience was a turning point for his campaign and himself.
Trump is a man who is incredibly lucky to be alive right now. It is only thanks to the slight turning of his head a moment before the sniper fired that both he and the country were saved from disaster. Such a close call with death can change anybody, even a man as headstrong as Trump.
As seen in recent interviews with Washington Examiner correspondents, Trump is well aware of his close call and has made clear the impact it has had on him. He told Salena Zito , “I rarely look away from the crowd. Had I not done that in that moment, well, we would not be talking today, would we?” Speaking to Byron York , he elaborated, “The chances of my making a perfect turn are probably one-tenth of 1%, so I’m not supposed to be here.”
The implications of this experience seem clear to Trump, as he said to Zito, “It is a chance to bring the country together. I was given that chance.” This change is already making itself manifest in his preparation for the Republican National Convention, saying to York, “I basically had a speech that was an unbelievable rip-roarer. … [Last night] I threw it out. I think it would be very bad if I got up and started going wild about how horrible everybody is and how corrupt and crooked, even if it’s true. Had this not happened, we had a speech that was pretty well set that was extremely tough. Now, we have a speech that is more unifying.”
The impact of the assassination attempt on Trump’s public language can also be seen in his Truth Social posts. In his first post after the attack, he said , “It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening. We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness.” On Sunday, he continued with a post that simply stated, “UNITE AMERICA!”
While this incident has clearly affected Trump’s campaign, it may also be a turning point for the man himself. The close confrontation with death that Trump experienced is enough to make anybody reconsider their life and priorities. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said about Trump after the assassination, “He feels like he has a new lease on life.”
While political analysis often focuses on numbers and policies, it is important to remember the impact of individuals and their experiences. This assassination attempt is the kind of shock that biographers in the future could point to as a spark for change.
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Trump would not be the only American leader to feel a new sense of purpose following an assassination attempt. Ronald Reagan believed that God had saved him from his wounding by an assassin for a greater purpose: to end the threat of nuclear war.
Of course, with a man as complex as Trump, it is hard to tell what is going on inside of him. He himself likely doesn’t even know. If there is a change to Trump himself because of this near-death experience, it is likely one that follows (or drives) his recent change in rhetoric. There is potential for Trump, as a candidate and a man, to see his political destiny as a unifier of a divided nation. What that means in practice, God only knows.
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