With a defiant tone and a bandage over his right ear, Donald Trump accepted the presidential nomination Thursday during a speech at the Republican National Convention that largely skipped his most controversial issues and instead focused on party — and national — unity just five days after an assassination attempt that could have ended his life.
The 78-year-old former president, best known for his bombastic and aggressive speeches, sent a much more subdued and personal message about his close brush with death.
“The discord and division in our society must be healed. We must heal it quickly. As Americans, we are united in a single destiny and a shared direction. We rise together. Or we fall together,” Trump said. “Seek the presidency for all of America, not half of America, because winning for half of America is not a victory.”
He did not directly mention his Democratic opponents, President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris, referring only in general terms to their administration. His speech also avoided any direct reference to his most controversial governing plans and his favorite topics, such as the 2020 election, the “deep state,” the Jan. 6 attack on the federal Capitol, and his plans to deport millions of immigrants who are in the country illegally.
His forward-looking speech marks the climax and conclusion of a massive Republican event that drew thousands of conservative activists and officials to key swing state Wisconsin as voters weigh their options in an election pitting two deeply unpopular candidates against each other.
Sensing some political opportunity after his near-fatal experience, the Republican has adopted a new tone that he hopes will help him generate even more momentum in an election that appears to be tilting in his favor.
But with just under four months to go until the election, there is still a chance, albeit slim, that radical changes could occur in the race.
Trump’s speech comes as Biden, 81, is clinging to the Democratic Party’s nomination despite relentless pressure from some key allies in Congress, donors and even former President Barack Obama, who fear he may not be able to win re-election after his disastrous debate performance.
After long coming under pressure from his allies to run a more aggressive campaign, Biden is instead self-isolating at his beach house in Delaware, recovering from a COVID-19 infection.
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