ST. LOUIS — The 4th and final night of the Republican National Convention was very much about showing Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, in a different light after he was wounded by gunfire in an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Trump accepted the party’s nomination, delivering a reworked speech with an eye toward unity.
He recounted the entire incident from his perspective, when a sniper’s bullet hit his ear, narrowly missing his head.
People talked about him much differently in the build-up to his speech.
Being ‘cheesy’ was a good thing on the final night of Republican’s bash in Wisconsin.
“Sometimes he has those cheesy moments where he hugs the flag,” said Republican Congressman Eric Burlison of Southwest Missouri. “There are certain things about him that sometimes you might see as cheesy. The more I see it, the more I find it endearing.”
Missouri’s U.S. Senator, Eric Schmitt, of St. Louis County, was among those greeting the former President as he entered the convention. Schmitt had a seat near the Trump family’s box in the arena.
“Donald Trump is not only a fighter, ladies and gentlemen. He is a good man,” former SBA Administrator Linda McMahon told the crowd.
“Could it be that the king of glory, the Lord God, strong and mighty, the God who is mighty in battle, protected Donald Trump because he wants to use him for such a time as this?” bellowed Lorenzo Sewell, a church pastor from Detroit.
Former First Lady Melania Trump made her first appearance, entering without introduction and taking a seat with the Trump family after her husband had apparently headed for the stage in advance of the speech.
He later called out to her, calling her his amazing wife.
She stood for a standing ovation.
“We rise together or we fall apart,” he said. “I am running to be president of all of America, not half of America. There is no victory in winning for half of America. So, tonight, with faith and devotion, I proudly accept your nomination for President of the United States.”
Later, he kissed the firefighter’s uniform of Corey Comperatore, the volunteer fireman who was killed by the sniper’s gunfire at the rally.
