Former President Trump and the Republicans have an opportunity, their first opportunity, to fundamentally change the presidential race in ways that would have been hard to do before Saturday’s tragic assassination attempt on a former president.
If Trump, as he has stated, changes the tone and register of his RNC convention speech away from partisan, “pro-MAGA” rhetoric toward emphasizing the need for unity, conciliation, and cooperation in our society in the face of violence and division, then he has a chance – in a way never possible previously in the history of this election – to bring people together.
‘I was not supposed to be here,’ Trump says on assassination attempt
This approach could endear him to swing voters, particularly those who may dislike President Biden but have been turned off by Trump’s fiery rhetoric. The one thing that has been clear in the polling so far this year is that the race has been relatively breaking for Trump, as the former president has maintained a lead for the last eight or nine months.
Yes, there is an occasional poll that shows a tie or Biden with a slight lead, but fundamentally, Trump has held steady 2-3 points above Biden nationally, and an even larger lead in key swing states. There is also evidence of Trump making progress in several purple states like New Hampshire, Virginia, and Minnesota. However, the prospect of Trump rising above political divisions and using the tragedy that befell him – and indeed the country – to argue for a different approach and a different kind of politics offers him something unique.
If he can permanently alter his approach, Trump will have expanded the political map for his race, as well as down-ballot House and Senate races. This is a significant opportunity. It is important for the country and for Trump’s political standing that he takes a softer approach, similar to what President Biden has done in his Oval Office speeches.
Make no mistake, elections are a referendum on incumbents. And what happened to Trump means that the American people will be looking at him first and foremost to see how he responds on the biggest stage of all to address the horrific events of last Saturday.
As an American, I hope that the Republicans do not continue to blame the Democrats, and similarly, that the Democrats do not blame the Republicans for the events due to the GOP’s allegedly “harsh rhetoric.” It is essential that Americans come together and that the rest of the presidential campaign is civil, based on the issues, not personal attacks.
If anything good is to come from the tragedy in Butler, Pennsylvania, it will be a renewed emphasis and attention to what makes us great: our courage, our commitment to free speech, individual liberty, diversity of opinion, and worldview. Let us earnestly hope that this is the result of this horrific, unspeakable tragedy.