A new subdued Trump at the RNC

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

“The challenge for Trump,” says The Spectator editorial from this month’s magazine “is to show Americans a steady hand and a normal face.” The normal face the Republican National Convention opted for was that of wrestling legend Hulk Hogan, who took to the stage waving a huge American flag, began his remarks by yelling, “Well let me tell you something brother” and later removed his jacket so he could tear his vest in half to reveal a red “Trump-Vance” tank top underneath. “Let Trumpomania run wild!” he screamed. The Fiserv Forum was exuberant. High up in the stands, Russell Brand was sat a few rows behind me, for some reason. Is this America’s new normal?

The moment was pure theater, the highlight of a convention that had been more subdued in the aftermath of the assassination attempt on the Republican candidate the weekend before. There’s always been something of a WWE-UFC edge to Trump’s unique brand of American machismo, which was wisely played up by the RNC. Heavy-hitters like Hogan and UFC president Dana White brought the “alpha male” energy — which Trump tapped into, entering the stage from the rear as part of the set lifted up to reveal a huge “TRUMP” in lights and Lee Greenwood sang “God Bless the USA.”

The efforts of Hogan and White — who licked his lips throughout his introduction as he said, “I’m in the tough guy business and this guy is the toughest most resilient guy I’ve ever met in my entire life” — created the breathing space for Trump to make a gear change in his remarks and try something new: an appeal for unity.

In his unscripted opening, the former president gave his account of what had happened the last time he made a speech, on Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a gunman clipped his ear, killing a supporter stood behind. “I said to myself, ‘wow what was that? It can only be a bullet.’” The already iconic images of the incident appeared on the giant screens around the arena as he talked. “They knew it was a shot to the head. They saw the blood. And there’s an interesting statistic. The ears are the bloodiest part. If something happens with the ears they bleed more than any other part of the body. For whatever reason the doctors told me that. And I said, ‘Why is there so much blood?’ He said, ‘It’s the ears, they bleed more.’ So we learned something.”

The crowd’s attention was rapt. This was, after all, new material. “I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” Trump said, inducing chants of “yes you are! Yes you are!” from the room. He seemed melancholy as he crossed the stage to kiss the fire helmet and jacket that were hung on a stand to the side, which belonged to Corey Comperatore, the victim of Saturday’s shooting. The crowd chanted “Corey” as he did so.

The RNC had subtitled its platform “America First: A Return to Common Sense.” “We’re gonna have a thing called common sense making most of our decisions,” Trump said. “With great humility I am asking you to be excited about the future of our country.”

After a powerful opening, Trump tailed off, devolving into the same stump speech he was probably planning to give the week before. The downtempo address went long — the longest ever, quite frankly — with the audience roused only by the occasional ad-lib. As he expressed gratitude for the family members present, he stopped on his youngest son for emphasis: “Barron… we love our Barron.” “Barron!!! 2048!!!” yelled a supporter behind me.

In the past, Trump has gone long to demonstrate his stamina over his slightly older rival Joe Biden. On Thursday night, his reasoning seemed slightly different: perhaps he felt the need to bask in the adulation, to stay standing because he was still standing, five days after a bullet came inches from ending him. On he meandered, praising “waitresses and caddies and drivers” as he talked up his “no tax on tips” policy. He even brought up the immigration graph he had been gesturing at on stage in Butler when the shots were fired. “The last time they put up that chart I never really got to look at it — but without that chart I would not be here,” he said, to cheers. A roomful of Republicans whooping over a line graph. 

“Just a few short days ago, my journey with you nearly ended,” Trump said, finally wrapping up. “We will press forward and together we will win, win, win,” an echo of the “Fight! Fight Fight!” he had yelled moments after the attempt on his life. “Nothing will sway us, nothing will slow us and no one will stop us.”

Speakers earlier in the night had been determined to stress Trump’s resilience and selflessness in the face of adversity. “The only crime President Trump has ever committed is loving America,” said Alina Habba, his lawyer of limited success. “This is the most responsible, most unifying behavior of a leader I’ve ever seen,” said Tucker Carlson of Trump’s immediate response to the shooting. “He’s gonna win in November and we’re all gonna be champions when he wins,” said Hogan. (Together with the selection of J.D. Vance as VP, whose Wednesday address was well received, the week was a triumph for a number of Peter Thiel associates.) The night’s main bum note came when Kid Rock combined two of America’s great genres — rap and rock — and performed a tweaked version of “American Bad Ass.” He nonetheless got a shoutout in Trump’s intro: “Thank you, Kid Rock, sometimes referred to as ‘Bob.’” A strange evening, with a colorful cast of characters — all of them united behind their party’s leader. Can the Democrats manage that in Chicago next month?