By Kenneth Tiven
An assassination effort that failed by just centimetres has lifted Donald Trump to near mythic proportions as the convention to nominate the Republican candidate for US president opens in Milwaukee, Wisconsin today.
Trump wrapped up his nomination months ago to regain the job he lost in 2020 to President Joe Biden. Every four years, the political gathering tries to wake up base voters, selects a vice president, and gives party leaders from the 50 states a chance to meet, greet, eat, and drink before the November election.
Heightened concerns this year after an apparent lone gunman fired at Trump while he was at an election rally on Saturday outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The shot hit his teleprompter’s glass screen and either grazed his right ear or was hit by flying glass. It was just that close to a tragedy for the nation and for the former president.
One spectator was killed as was the gunman, seconds after the attempt when spotted by a government sniper on the roof of an adjacent building, posted for security against such an event. An investigation is underway into the 20-year-old who was the shooter, as to motive, and how he got on the roof of an adjacent building without being spotted.
Trump’s appearance at the convention, probably on Tuesday, will have all the appearance of a coronation in the expectation that he will become president again.
Four years ago there was no policy platform. It was all about Trump. This time, there is the unofficial platform by the Heritage Foundation, a hard rightwing group that wants to eliminate much of the federal government.
The official party platform is a watered-down version of that.
Months ago, Trump encouraged the Heritage Foundation to develop a blueprint for dismantling almost every agency that deals in human services. Its 900 pages include several contentious restrictions: anti-immigration language, deportation of noncitizens, and prohibitions on all matters involving sexual relations. It goes beyond abortion. It contravenes much of the US Constitution, proposing that an ethnic and religiously diverse America recognise the MAGA members (a minority) who believethe USA is a Christian nation.
The controversial issue is how this is interpreted by voters.
The three-day event will be seen on television largely as a coronation for Trump, whose party platform and his own behaviour reflect a royal approach to leadership of a democracy. Its biggest task is to confirm Trump’s choice for vice president. He’s been running this like the old beauty pageants he used to operate. In endless emails, he has teased America about whom to pick. His shortlist includes Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
Trump was alert but bleeding when he was surrounded by Secret Service agents and hustled off the platform. He raised his fist and shouted “fight”. Doctors say he is physically ok. On Sunday evening, President Joe Biden gave a short speech from the Oval Office decrying violence and said, “Politics must never be a literal battlefield or, god forbid, a literal killing field. Here in America, we need to get out of our silos, where we only listen to those with whom we agree.”