After Assassination Attempt, Trump Reclaims The Limelight

This episode discusses Donald Trump's first public address following an assassination attempt, during which he accepts the Republican presidential nomination and uses the incident to unite his base and criticize opponents.

1. Trump used his first public appearance post-assassination attempt to solidify his position by blending dramatic storytelling with political rhetoric.
2. He focused on themes of unity and survival, casting himself as a victim of political persecution and a guardian of democracy.
3. The episode highlighted the significant emotional and political impact of the assassination attempt on Trump's campaign strategy.
4. Abortion, a usually significant topic for Trump, was conspicuously absent from his speech, indicating a strategic avoidance of divisive issues.
5. The podcast reflects on the stark contrast between the unified Republican base and the visible fractures within the Democratic party.

1: Introduction and Background

The hosts introduce the episode and set the scene at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Asma Khalid: "You can, in fact, probably hear some of the balloons being popped from the balloon drop this evening."

2: Trump's Speech and Assassination Attempt

Trump recounts the assassination attempt and transitions into his campaign speech, invoking themes of unity and resilience. Donald Trump: "I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America."

3: Analysis of Speech and Political Strategy

Hosts analyze the components of Trump's speech, discussing how his narrative may affect voter perception and his campaign strategy. Mara Liasson: "It's almost boilerplate to say, I'm running to be president for all of America, not half of America."

4: Religious Rhetoric and Political Landscape

Discussion on the religious undertones in Trump’s rhetoric post-assassination attempt and the broader implications for the Republican and Democratic parties. Frank Ordonez: "This idea that Trump is a vessel for God has long been a part of his appeal to evangelical supporters."

• Reflect critically on political narratives and their impact on public perception.
• Analyze speeches for both overt and subtle messages, especially in the context of campaign strategies.
• Stay informed about both sides of political debates to understand broader electoral dynamics.
• Consider the role of media in shaping political narratives and public opinion.
• Engage in political discussions with a focus on fact-checking and sourcing reliable information.

In a lengthy speech formally accepting the Republican nomination for president, Donald Trump made his case for serving a second term focused on mass deportations and border security, isolationist "America First" foreign policy and deep tax cuts.

This episode: White House correspondent Asma Khalid, campaign correspondent Franco Ordoñez, senior national political correspondent Mara Liasson.

The podcast is produced by Jeongyoon Han, Casey Morell and Kelli Wessinger. Our intern is Bria Suggs. Our editor is Eric McDaniel. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.

People

Donald Trump, Asma Khalid, Frank Ordonez, Mara Liasson, Franklin Graham, Eric Trump

Companies

NPR, Republican National Convention

Books

None

Guest Name(s):

None

Content Warnings:

None

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Asma Khalid
Hey there. It's the NPR Politics podcast. I'm Asma Khalid. I cover the White House.

Frank Ordonez
I'm Frank Ordonez. I cover the presidential campaign.

Mara Liasson
And I'm Mara Liasson, senior national political correspondent.

Asma Khalid
And the time now is 11:51 p.m. central time on Thursday, July 18 of 2024. And we're here. You can, in fact, probably hear some of the balloons being popped from the balloon drop this evening. But we are here just as Donald Trump wrapped up his speech accepting the republican presidential nomination in Milwaukee.

Donald Trump
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.

Asma Khalid
And he started his speech with this dramatic, yet I would say rather somber retelling of the assassination attempt.

Donald Trump
So many people have asked me, what happened?

Tell us what happened, please, and therefore I will tell you exactly what happened.

And you'll never hear it from me a second time because it's actually too painful to tell.

Asma Khalid
This is the first time the public has heard directly from Trump since the shooting.

Donald Trump
I started to like this, turned to my right and was ready to begin a little bit further turn, which I'm very lucky I didn't do.

When I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me really, really hard on my right ear, I said to myself, wow, what was that?

It can only be a bullet.

And moved my right hand to my ear, brought it down.

My hand was covered with blood.

Asma Khalid
Franco, what did you hear in that story?

Frank Ordonez
I mean, it was very dramatic. And I can tell you, when I looked across the arena, folks were really, you know, really gripped and on the edge of their seats, some people even crying. I mean, when he said, I'm not supposed to be here, I mean, you could hear some of the crowd. Folks were like saying, yes, you are. I mean, it just shows to me how powerful, you know, surviving an attempted assassination can be, but also how helpful it can be politically. And, you know, in this scenario, they used it to their advantage.

Mara Liasson
Yeah, the guy survived an assassination attempt. He earned the right to milk it for all it's worth.

Asma Khalid
So Trump started off his speech tonight with these calls for unity, and he didn't sound angry, but as the speech went on, it seemed like it turned into a bit of a classic Trump campaign speech.

Donald Trump
The Democrat party should immediately stop weaponizing the justice system and labeling their political 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.

Asma Khalid
Franco, you spend a lot of time listening to the president out on the campaign trail. Was this his usual schtick?

Frank Ordonez
I mean, certainly the second part of the speech was absolutely kind of like hitting the greatest hits of the speech. You know, attacking the Biden administration on immigration, saying the border was, as it ever has been in history under Henness administration. There were record numbers of border crossings under him as well.

No inflation, according to him, under, in the Trump administration, saying he stopped human trafficking, which he did not. Saying that the country is on the edge of world War three.

Talking about that he is not a threat to democracy, that Biden is a threat to democracy, and repeating these claims that they stole the election from him.

Asma Khalid
And these are things you often hear when he goes out on the road.

Frank Ordonez
Absolutely. I mean, I can't tell you how many times I've heard some of these phrases, some of these sentences. You know, Mara and I were looking at each other during the speech and saying, yep, we've heard this one before.

Mara Liasson
Yeah, and look, the campaign was trying to shape the coverage of this speech by telling us in advance that it was going to be different, that he'd ripped up the speech.

One of the biggest lies told here, because this was exactly what he does in a rally. He had ripped up his speech and he was completely rewriting it. And you were going to hear a new tone from Trump and a call for national unity. What you heard in the speech was when he would talk about unity, he says, in that spirit of unity, democrats should just stop their persecution of me. So it was unity behind him. We just heard that cut of tape where he says, I'm running to be president of all of America, not half of America. That is something that I think that every single presidential candidate that I have covered actually says. That is anodyne to say that that's some new and dramatic and profound call for unity is actually.

Asma Khalid
But I don't recall hearing that from Trump. In Trump.

Mara Liasson
Not from him. Not from him. But this is a standard thing.

It's almost boilerplate to say, I'm running to be president for all of America, not half of America. That is as far as his national unity message got.

Frank Ordonez
I don't disagree at all. I absolutely agree that it is anodyne and it is like whatever president says. But Trump is so far from any president before that. It's amazing that when he says something like, something that every other president has said, it's almost, like, noteworthy.

Mara Liasson
Well, I don't know, because the rest of the speech didn't follow in that.

Asma Khalid
Yeah. In that spirit, it felt like the unity was the lead, and then the meat of this speech was classic Trump.

Mara Liasson
One thing we did not hear mentioned at all from Trump was abortion.

Frank Ordonez
One of his biggest accomplishments that he.

Mara Liasson
Often talks about how proud he is that he nominated the three conservative Supreme Court justices who gave the court the majority to overturn Roe.

He knows it's unpopular. He's been trying to kind of shove it off to the side, saying, ooh, it's a state's thing. But abortion, the word abortion did not cross his lips tonight.

Asma Khalid
I do want to talk a bit about the mood at this convention overall and to contrast it with when Trump first ran for president in 2016.

My impression is that people here have been really remarkably happy and optimistic, cheery, happy to chat.

I'm curious if that was your 100%.

Mara Liasson
Pro Trump, don't forget 2016 party very divided. There were never Trumpers inside the convention. There's not a single never Trumper in here, I don't think. Or at least we certainly haven't heard a peep out of them. This is a party that is 100% unified behind Trump. The platform is his.

There really wasn't anything about this that wasn't trumpian.

Asma Khalid
All right, well, on that note, let's take a quick break, and we'll be back in a moment.

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Asma Khalid
And we're back, and I want us to discuss some of the religious rhetoric that we have heard that has cropped up this week around the former President Donald Trump. The idea that he was protected by some sort of miracle, that God was able to help him turn his head to escape that assassination attempt on him last weekend, this idea that God was in the room. Here's how evangelical leader Franklin Graham put it in his remarks tonight.

Frank Ordonez
Last Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania, President Trump had a near death experience, no question, but God spared his life.

Asma Khalid
It's a similar message we heard from Trump's son, Eric.

Eric Trump
By the grace of God, divine intervention and your guardian angels above you survived.

Asma Khalid
And frankly, from Trump himself.

Donald Trump
I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty God.

Asma Khalid
Franco. This idea that Trump is a vessel for God has long been a part of his appeal to evangelical supporters. This week has felt different, like the messaging about God is meant to appeal to a broad swath of the republican base. What did you make of that?

Frank Ordonez
Yeah, I think it has been a big part, and it has been a big part ever since the shooting itself. I mean, sources were telling me that Trump felt like he was touched by an angel.

The Trump campaign was showing images on social media of pictures of Jesus behind President Trump. I mean, and the language used today, as you were pointing out by Trump himself, it was more emphatic than I would say, than we have heard in the past. He has mentioned it before, but I felt it was a few more beats this time.

Mara Liasson
I think it was a lot more. He said, I felt safe and secure. I had God on my side. Later, he said, it was a providential moment. When I rose, he said, the crowd was confused. They thought I was dead. And then they see me standing up. I mean, he's fully accepted the religious aspect of his assassination attempt and the confluence between him and God.

God didn't just protect him. He almost was a godlike figure.

Frank Ordonez
There's reason why so many speakers brought this up. I mean, because it's something that resonates with the audience here.

Asma Khalid
Yeah, I heard this from some of the republican voters I was talking to of their own accord would bring it up. I think it's a really interesting observation. You know, before we wrap up today's podcast, I think we need to address the very strange political split screen that we have been seeing all this week. Republicans here uniting behind Trump while President Biden seems to be facing mounting pressure from some in his own party to drop out.

I will say, of course, political parties always try to counter program conventions, but I would say this is not counter programming that Democrats had intended this week. No, Mara, why is this not getting resolved?

Mara Liasson
85% of the reason that Republicans are so confident is because the Democrats are imploding. It's not because Trump has found some incredible way to boost his poll numbers. It's that Biden is collapsing. It's not that Trump is soaring. That's why they're so confident, because the other guy is paralyzed and doesn't know, even know who's going to be at the top of their ticket.

Asma Khalid
Why is he not getting.

Mara Liasson
But things are happening.

Frank Ordonez
The Trump campaign is really, really lapping this up. You know, senior Trump campaign advisor Chris Lacivito was talking to Georgetown students earlier this week, and he described what was happening among Biden and his supporters as a coup against Biden. It was kind of the defense that they had when they were asked about, are you guys going to have a unity message? Are you going to reach across the aisle? The answer always was, Republicans are unified. Look at what's happening to the Democrats and look at how they're trying to take Biden out. I mean, it was very strong and there was almost like a palpable excitement about that. And as Morris says, you add that to the debate about the rising poll numbers, how well they're doing in some battleground states.

They're feeling pretty good about themselves.

Mara Liasson
And in terms of things are happening on the democratic side, I mean, I think we're getting closer to Biden being off the ticket. One after another, prominent Democrats have gone to meet with him to tell him that they not only don't think he can win, but that he's going to, if he stays in the race, he's going to lose their chance of taking back the House and hurt other down ballot candidates. One prominent Democrat told me today that Biden knows hes frail now. Thats new. Up until now, Biden has insisted there was nothing wrong with him and he was perfectly capable.

So I do think things are moving. Pelosi, Jeffries, Schumer, have all been to see him today. The second sitting, senator, John Tester of Montana, said he should step aside. Peter Welch for Vermont was the only other senator who had done that. The one really important person we're waiting to hear from is James Clyburn. We haven't heard that he's talked to him. We know that he has been a supporter of Biden's, but also he's very much in favor of Kamala Harris taking over, if that's what it comes to.

Asma Khalid
All right. Well, that is a wrap for today's show. We will be back in your feeds on Monday. But we, of course, are going to keep an eye on all the breaking news this weekend. And if news breaks, we will be there for you. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi. Our editor is Eric McDaniel. Our producers are Jung Yoon, Han, Kacey Morell and Kelly Wessinger. Our intern is Bria Suggs. Special thanks this week to Patrick Murray, Zach Coleman and Jay Sizz for being our audio engineers on site here at the Pfizer forum, along with all of our other operations staff, both here in Milwaukee and back in Washington, who have made these podcast decisions week possible. And another big shout out to NPR member station Wu WM 89.7, Milwaukee's NPR for hosting us all this week. We are incredibly grateful for their help and their hospitality.

Frank Ordonez
Yay.

Asma Khalid
I'm Asma Khalid. I cover the White House.

Frank Ordonez
I'm Frank Gordonez. I cover the campaign.

Mara Liasson
And I'm Mara Liasson, senior national political correspondent.

Asma Khalid
And thank you all, as always, for listening to the NPR Politics podcast.

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