MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – Donald Trump wasn’t slated to appear at the Republican National Convention until Thursday.
But when he unexpectedly showed up on Monday, it wasn’t the shock factor that moved delegates and attendees alike, it was his very presence, his walk, his ear bandage, his raised fist in the air and his decision to attend the convention at all just days after nearly losing his life in a failed assassination attempt.
Over the course of several days, social media has buzzed with simulations, photos and diagrams displaying just how close Trump was to death. It was nothing other than divine providence, Trump wrote on Truth Social, and it’s a topic he’s discussed with confidants in recent days, many told the Daily Caller. They described a new strength and determination to meet the moment on the former president’s face and in his voice.
“By the end of [Monday] night, I was able to work up to the rope line. So when he came down off the stairs and walked through, he saw me. He came up to me and put his hand through Secret Service to shake my hand. He looked me right in the eye. He said, ‘that was a heck of a day, wasn’t it? I said, yes, it was, sir,'” Blake Marnell, a California delegate often seen at Trump rallies donning a brick suit, told the Caller. “The truth is, he’s a heck of a guy and we’re lucky to have him.”