A more reflective Trump will win in November

Dr. Johnson once remarked that the prospect of hanging in a fortnight concentrates the mind. So, apparently, does being shot.   

At least, that’s part of what I took away from Donald Trump’s long and sober acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention last night.  

Many commentators have observed that there was a kinder, gentler Trump on view at the convention last night. Perhaps.  

Certainly, the detailed account he gave of his experience being shot last week at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, was edged with a solemness and humility that have not been prominent parts of Trump’s rhetorical armory. I hope readers will appreciate that little exercise in litotes. 

We had been advised beforehand that the assassination attempt had led Trump to scrap his original speech in favor of something more “unifying.” 

A few days ago, Trump’s wife Melania published an open letter urging Americans; to “look beyond the left and the right, beyond the red and the blue,” and “reunite.” We often hear such sentiments expressed on ceremonial occasions and I have no doubt that the emollient phrases expressed were in part dictated by the exigencies of the moment. 

But they were also, I believe, heartfelt. America has been through a tough several years. Tokens of that struggle include many of the themes that Trump touched on in his speech: prosperity blighting inflation, a tsunami of illegal immigration, expensive foreign wars, endless assaults on comity, common sense and traditional canons of excellence.  

All that was part of Trump’s purview. And he was as robust as he ever has been in his warnings to terrorists and his promise to “drill, baby, drill” to achieve energy dominance for the United States.  

But undergirding all the specific policy proposals — lower taxes, a secure border, a strong military, et cetera — was a recognition that “we rise together or we fall apart.” As Trump said, he was running “to be president for all of America, not half of America.” 

“None of us,” he said, “knows God’s plan, or where life’s adventure will take us. But if the events of last Saturday make anything clear, it is that every single moment we have on earth is a gift from God. We have to make the most of every day for the people and country we love.”

The fiery old Donald Trump was by no means absent last night. But he was supplemented by a more sober, more reflective chap. A brush with death will do that. 

Were I a betting man, I’d say that no matter who the Democrats wind up with as their candidate, this new avatar of Trump, Trump 2.0, is not only going to win in November but win in a landslide.