Trump will describe the shooting in his RNC speech. He won’t mention Joe Biden.
MILWAUKEE — Former President Donald Trump plans to describe his brush with death at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in detailed and personal terms when he formally accepts the Republican nomination for president, and he is expected to call for the “discord and division in our society” to be healed.
“As you already know, the assassin’s bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life. So many people have asked me what happened, and therefore, I’ll tell you what happened, and you’ll never hear it from me a second time, because it’s too painful to tell,” Trump will say.
He will not mention President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris, according to a person familiar with the speech, POLITICO has learned, though he does intend to blame his “opponents’” policies for fueling what he argues is a “nation in decline.”
And he will make both the call for unity and the pitch beyond his base that many Republicans had hoped he would — and some feared he would not — in his first speech since the attempted assassination on Saturday night.
Trump is expected to say he is “running to be president for all of America, not half of America,” because “there is no victory in winning for half of America.”
“Just a few short days ago, my journey with you nearly ended,” Trump will say, according to excerpts of his remarks released before his speech. “And yet here we are tonight, all gathered together, talking about the future, promise, and renewal of America. We live in a world of miracles.”
The former president scrapped his original speech, according to aides, and continued to work on rewriting his address today. People close to him said the assassination attempt prompted him to reconsider his message. Trump aides spent much of Thursday hunkered down and making alterations to the speech, according to a person familiar with the deliberations granted anonymity to speak freely. Trump has taken the reins in writing the speech, the person said.
Trump will discuss aspects of his policy agenda that he frequently emphasizes on the campaign trail, particularly curbing illegal immigration and reducing America’s involvement in foreign wars. Trump is expected to vow not to “let these killers and criminals into our country,” and to “keep our sons and daughters safe.”
He is expected to call for American hostages to be returned before he assumes office — and if not, Trump will say in a warning “to the entire world: you will be paying a very big price.”
“We have become a dumping ground for the world, which is laughing at us,” Trump is expected to say. “They think we’re stupid. They can’t believe what they’re getting away with, but getting away with it they are.
He’ll note wars that began under Presidents George Bush and Barack Obama, as well as “under the current administration,” and will say that “under President Trump, Russia took nothing.”
In the prepared remarks, Trump gives a nod to voters who did not necessarily support him in the past, saying he will “extend to you a hand of loyalty and friendship,” despite political party, race or gender.
“As long as our energies are spent fighting each other, our destiny will remain out of reach. We must instead take that energy and use it to realize our country’s true potential—and write our own thrilling chapter of the American Story,” Trump will say.