The Republican National Convention featured many different speeches that had a much different tone than was initially expected.
In most cases, the speeches toned down on the rhetoric and attacks, in the wake of the assassination attempt on GOP nominee Donald Trump at a rally last weekend.
And while Trump himself was expected to do the same, he didn’t really do so. What was very apparent throughout the RNC, though, is that this is a Republican Party that now seems more united than it has over the last few years, when divisions ran rampant throughout the party.
Wearing a bandage on his right ear — which was hit by one of the shooter’s bullets, didn’t mention President Joe Biden much at all during his full speech on the last day of the RNC on Thursday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Two weeks ago, that would’ve seemed impossible to imagine, especially as Biden continues to face increasing calls to drop out of the race from members of the Democratic Party.
Multiple times, Trump said during his speech that he was “not supposed to be here,” in reference to the attempt on his life by a shooter at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The former president then said that everyone needs to tone down their partisan ways. In reciting a section of the Pledge of Allegiance, he 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.
“And we must not criminalize dissent or demonize criminal disagreement, which is what’s been happening lately at a level that nobody’s ever seen before.”
While he toned down direct attacks on Biden and others, Trump still used typical rhetoric when he was speaking about crime, immigration, the economy and the many achievements he accomplished during his first term in the White House.
He also repeated a frequent phrase that he’s said during the various investigations that have led to him being charged with crimes, saying that his political opponents have been “weaponizing the justice system” against him.
Trump said that all of the civil and criminal proceedings that he’s facing should be dropped in the “spirit” of unity. As he continued:
“In that spirit, the Democrat Party should immediately stop weaponizing the justice system and labeling their opponent as an enemy of democracy, especially since that is not true. In fact, I am the one saving democracy for the people of our country.
“If Democrats want to unify our country, they should drop these partisan witch hunts.”
In the closing moments of his speech, Trump seemed subdued, but promised to “save this country” and “usher in the rich and wonderful tomorrow that our people so truly deserve.”
He added:
“America’s future will be bigger, better, bolder, brighter, happier, stronger, freer, greater and more united than ever before. Quite simply put, we will very quickly make America great again.”
