A kinder, gentler Trump?

Within an hour after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on Saturday, I sped down to the Patriot bunker for a special live edition of the Northern Alliance Radio Network. While I was on air, Trump posted a statement on his "Truth Social" app which I read on air. 

Upon reading that, I remarked how the sentiments expressed were so unlike Trump in that his tone was dignified and judicious. 

Then on Sunday morning, a little more than 12 hours after the attempt on his life, Trump made these comments. 

Again, I was struck by his graciousness. 

There have been numerous occasions in the past where ardent Trump supporters have suggested certain landmarks in his life (i.e., assuming the Oval Office for the first time, a high profile summit meeting, catching a severe case of COVID-19, etc.) would have such a profound effect on him that it would change him for the better. And when such viewpoints were conveyed, I often found myself literally rolling my eyes. A wealthy man in his 70s is about as ironclad stuck in their ways as any living, breathing organism can be. But when one escapes death by a matter of a few centimeters?!?!? Yeah, I'll be honest. This is the first time I've given pause at the notion that Trump can evolve for the better. 

Conservative commentator Steve Deace indicated that this is a grand opportunity for Trump to make an impact in a capacity far greater than the political arena. 

I sincerely hope and pray that Trump uses this moment as the impetus to fully turn his life over to God as Reagan did 43 years ago when he was almost assassinated. What a testimony that would be, and right at the time not just us but the whole world needs America to have a leader like that. That would be a true Romans 8:28 moment. Many years ago I was nearly killed in a car accident. I wasn't a believer, I flunked out of college, and was working at a temp agency. And even at 22 (let alone 78 like Trump is) that prompted me to radically re-asses where my life was at, and God used that to be the first step towards moving me where I am now. Trump's statement (Sunday) morning was one of the best he's ever released. Truly inspiring and presidential.

I sincerely hope and pray God also uses this moment to get all of His people in this country to truly know what time it is. If Trump doesn't turn his head there and that shot lands centimeters differently, we are seeing things and discussing things ever since that make pretty much of all our current (and very important) differences among us quite trivial at that point. Furthermore, if Trump had brought family up there on-stage with him or other VIPs as he often does, it could've been them instead or in addition to. This wasn't just a shot across Trump's bow but all of our bows. The darkness is growing evermore. Grandmothers in Tennessee await prison sentences for prayerful protest of barbarism. Patriots who committed no violent acts on J6th still rotting away in DC gulags, or they're out but now outcasts in their own country. The attempted character assassination of Kavanaugh. The attempted actual assassination of the Family Research Council and GOP lawmakers playing softball. The "other" rhetoric the Spirit of the Age has injected into the water table and the soul of the Democrat Party is -- as Obama's former pastor once said -- "coming home to roost." As I've been saying the last couple of years, we are running out of time to peaceably but aggressively use the political process to meaningfully push back on this darkness. I don't know how many more warning shots it will take, or how many more we have left. But pray now is the time to overcome fear of our woke wives, or our own cowardice, or losing a job we hate and become citizens who refuse to lose the country we love while we still have that chance. It won't last forever.

I have seen on social media several posts from citizens who claimed to be on the fence that Trump's resolve and poise literally two minutes after he was grazed by a bullet was the deciding factor in supporting him over President Joe Biden this election. While I concede that Biden has handled this incident with the dignity & grace that is expected of America's top executive, the fact is he doesn't have the stamina to complete his current term, much less endure another four years. That has become more obvious to more Americans over the past few weeks. 

Yeah, there's just something about a guy who cheats death and then about 60 seconds later pumps his fist in the air as if to say "You're going to have to literally kill me in order for me to go away!!!" 

That type of courage combined with a more measured tone is going to swing independent voters back to Trump in such significant numbers that a sleepy Biden just won't be able to overcome it. The only question is will it last? Given the Republican National Convention kicks off this week in Milwaukee (with Trump accepting the GOP nomination on Thursday), we'll learn the answer by week's end. 

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