Trump Fans Try Playing Nice, but ‘Fight, Fight’ Comes More Easily
The New York Times
Donald J. Trump signaled he wanted Republicans to tone it down after the attempt on his life. It’s a tough ask for his fired-up supporters at the Republican National Convention.
It was an unnatural spectacle, like watching a dog walk on its hind legs: a convention hall full of feisty Republicans suddenly talking about playing nice with Democrats.
The message came directly from the top. After surviving an assassination attempt, Donald J. Trump said he had rewritten the speech he plans to give in Milwaukee on Thursday, apparently toning it down. “UNITE AMERICA!” he instructed on Truth Social.
When his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, spoke on Tuesday night, she started off by saying: “I actually had a very different speech that I was prepared to give up here tonight. That all changed at 6:11 on Saturday evening.”
Her husband, Eric Trump, said on CNN that “I think politics needs to be done with a lot more respect, and a lot more love.”
So much for retribution.
Mr. Trump’s party scrambled to pivot to kumbaya, but this was not a posture that came easily to them. And the set design was all wrong. The halls of the convention center were covered with quotations from Mr. Trump (“THEY’RE NOT AFTER ME, THEY’RE AFTER YOU … I’M JUST STANDING IN THE WAY.”) and pictures of his scowling face.
