A day after being grazed by an assassin’s bullet, Donald Trump said he had decided to rewrite the speech he will give at his party’s convention this week and use it as an opportunity to unite the country.
He flew to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Sunday night in a show of defiance as he demonstrates he is back at work.
He spent Sunday calling world leaders, journalists and allies before announcing that the attack would not take him out of his busy schedule.
But at the same time, his advisers have quietly made clear that the convention — expected to be a raucous and provocative coronation for the Democratic nominee — should be a more low-key affair.
Starting with the president’s own speech.
“Unite, America!” Trump posted on Truth Social after revealing he would be traveling to Milwaukee as planned.
He is expected to make his first public appearance on Monday, when he may (or may not) announce his vice presidential pick before his big speech on the final night of the convention.
“The speech I was going to give on Thursday was going to be spectacular,” he said. Washington Examiner.
‘If this had not happened, this would have been one of the most incredible speeches directed primarily at President Joe Biden’s policies.
“Honestly, it will be a totally different speech now,” he added.
People who spoke to him said he was in good spirits throughout the day and was intent on showing that life goes on.
“Instead of going back to Florida, or instead of staying in Bedminster, he’s coming to Milwaukee, a little bit earlier, instead of late, like most prognosticators said he would,” said Trump confidant and Maryland party committee member David Bossie, who is on the convention planning committee.
“That’s what leaders do. They want to dispel the idea that something is wrong.”
The day before, a gunman had nearly taken his own life.
The Fiserv Forum was decked out in red, white and blue (with plenty of gold balloons) ready for the start of the Republican National Convention on Monday.
Trump Force One arrives in Milwaukee from Newark Airport on Sunday night
Trump walks down the stairs of his plane after landing in Milwaukee
Instead, Trump turned his head at the crucial moment and ended up with a bloody ear. His Secret Service team rushed him off the stage, but not before saluting his supporters with a clenched fist.
Since then, he has given the impression of a leader determined to get on with his work.
He has spoken by phone with President Joe Biden, the new British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
“You would think he would be depressed,” said Fox News host Lawrence Jones, who spoke with the former president on Sunday.
“He’s in the saddle. He’s excited.”
Trump himself said he would not allow a gunman to ruin his campaign or his life.
“In the wake of yesterday’s horrific events, I was going to delay my trip to Wisconsin and the Republican National Convention by two days, but I just decided that I cannot allow a ‘shooter’ or potential assassin to force me to reschedule or anything else,” she said in a post on Truth Social.
Trump’s plane landed in Milwaukee around 6:00 p.m. local time. The man raised his fist as he walked down the stairs.
Trump announced Sunday afternoon that he would go ahead with his plan to travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for the Republican National Convention.
Rapper and influencer Amber Rose is seen on stage at Fiserv Forum during preparations for the Republican National Convention
People rally in support of Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump in Huntington Beach, California, on Sunday.
Attendees will notice some changes to the festival, which is held every four years.
Security was already tight, with a 10-foot barrier erected around Fiserv Forum and dirty bomb-sniffing helicopters in the air.
But a source told DailyMail.com that senior Trump officials had called for a more sober tone to the proceedings than in previous years.
“It’s not all going to be kumbaya,” they said, standing on the convention floor, beneath a ceiling already filled with red, white, blue and gold balloons ready to be released.
“But there will be more about unity and a little less attacking.”
Bossie said no one had told the delegates to change their tone. Governors, senators or U.S. representatives knew what was expected of them.
“If you can read the nation, you’re going to make comments that reflect that,” he said.
“And I’m not saying that what they said or didn’t say was wrong. It’s just that maybe they said it in a different way. That’s what happens.”