Suit-wearing Republican seniors awkwardly trying to “get down” to Kid Rock.
Hulk Hogan ripping off his shirt, followed by a prayer from Franklin Graham.
A porn star with a face tattoo talking about how she started voting Republican.
There were many unexpected moments at this year’s Republican National Convention, but none more surprising than Donald Trump urging Americans to turn away from divisive language in our politics.
Even more unexpectedly, it worked.
At least, for the first hour.
(At 93 minutes long, it’s the longest acceptance speech of either party in modern political history, breaking his own record from 2016.)
Rather than his usual attacks against President Joe Biden, who he usually calls “the worst president in the history of our country,” the former president began his remarks with an appeal reaching beyond his base.
“I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America,” Trump said. “In an age when our politics too often divide us, now is the time to remember that we are all fellow citizens—we are one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
“Tonight, whether you’ve supported me in the past or not, I hope you’ll support me in the future,” Trump added.
That is a reversal of the “turn out your base” politics that got Trump elected in 2016 and has since been practiced by both parties. And it’s a notable change in tone from the combative New York political brawler who originally inspired so many Trump fans.
Trump then gave a first-person account of being shot in the ear by a would-be assassin in Pennsylvania last week, describing how it looked from his perspective. The crowd appeared riveted, though the president rarely raised his voice.
“I stand before you in this arena by the grace of Almighty God,” Trump said.
He described hearing the bullet whiz by, getting tackled by his protective detail, and then seeing the worry on the faces of people in the crowd who’d seen him shot. And in a move that may have surprised some of his supporters, Trump went out of his way to praise the Social Service, an agency under fire from Republicans for how it handled security on Saturday.
“I felt serene,” Trump said. “I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” he told the crowd, which promptly broke out into the chant, “Yes, you are!”
Trump eventually got to his usual list of policy proposals, covering familiar territory, though without the sometimes harsh tone of the past.
“Two things on Day One: ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ and close our borders,” Trump told the crowd. But even on immigration, he was careful to add that “Republicans want immigration. They just have to come here legally.”
He pledged to promote American manufacturing, oppose electric vehicle mandates, and bring “peace, stability, and harmony” to the world.
The biggest applause line, however, came when Trump reverted to form and threaten Hamas terrorists. “We want our hostages back, and they better be back before I assume office, or you will be paying a very big price.”
So will “Low Energy Donald” deliver?
“It was one [of the] most disciplined [speeches] President Trump has given,” said longtime GOP strategist Vincent Galko of Mercury Public Affairs.
It may be a smart Donald. With the Democrats self-destructing over what to do about a struggling Joe Biden, political professionals say this could be an opportunity for Trump to expand his appeal. Though he’s led Biden in the polls for nearly a year, that same data shows he’s had a ceiling of support around 47 percent.
If Trump’s speech, along with the convention’s efforts to “humanize” him, end up lifting Trump’s potential support to 50 percent, the Democrats’ job gets even harder.
The Keystone State reaction to Trump’s speech broke down along party lines.
“He was somber and reflective as he genuinely felt he was there by the grace of God,” Former Pennsylvania GOP Chairman Alan Novak told DVJournal. “It set a very good tone. … He was not bitter or vindictive. He has a big tent plan for the party and the country.”
The Upper Providence Township GOP tweeted “In 4 months, we will begin the 4 greatest years in the history of our country.”
But Philadelphia-based Biden delegate Lindy Li called Trump’s different tone an act. “Trump’s much-vaunted ‘unity’ actually means overlooking his crimes. His ‘unity’ means forgetting that he terrorized Congress. … Don’t fall for his BS.”
And Biden-Harris 2024 Campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon had a confused complaint when it was over. “Tonight, Donald Trump rambled on for well over an hour and failed to mention Project 2025 even once.”
That latter reference may be disappointing to Democratic insiders, but few Americans in either party have ever heard of it.
Trump ended on a message of uplift.
“Together, we will save this country, we will restore the Republic, and we will usher in the rich and wonderful tomorrows that our people so truly deserve,” Trump said.
“America’s future will be bigger, better, bolder, brighter, happier, stronger, freer, greater and more united than ever before. And quite simply put, we will very quickly make America great again.”
