I was watching the Trump rally on television the late Saturday afternoon of July 13, and saw the horrific assassination attempt on President Donald Trump. I followed the aftermath and discussions for the next 48 hours and knew that I was watching the revelation of history. The scenes of the horrific incident will be seen for years in historic documents and films. The reaction by President Trump, rising above the Secret Service detail and heroically pumping his fist into the air shouting to the immense throng of worshippers, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” will be seen millions of times between now and November 5.
The mere fact that Trump had the strength and presence of mind to get up and react was amazing after being hit by a bullet and tackled by five Secret Service agents. He actually wanted to continue his speech to the tremendous Pennsylvania audience. He revealed a resilience that I do not believe even his most ardent followers thought he had. That picture of him with blood on his face, defiantly pumping his fist, and saying, “Fight!”, will be an indelible iconic image forever in the annals of presidential politics.
The Secret Service did a good job of getting to Trump and covering the President. However, the Secret Service and its director became villainized by the inexplicable inability to secure the rally surroundings from a person carrying a rifle onto the top of a building with a clear view less than 150 yards from where the President was delivering his address.
The most remarkable unfolding of the event was the fact that if President Trump had not turned his head to the right at that exact moment, the bullet would have hit him right in the head and killed him rather than simply grazing his ear. That was without question, divine intervention.
It was obvious when Trump appeared at the GOP Convention on Monday night, a mere 51 hours after almost being murdered, he had a quiet, calm redemptive composure. He had the same mellow demeanor as he gave his acceptance speech on Thursday night. He looks and sounds presidential. He realizes that God spared his life. A mere millimeter difference in the bullet’s trajectory, caused by the exact timing of his turning his head, saved his life. The former and probably next President had a Damascus Road experience.
The entire country, including Republicans, Independents, and even Democrats, have seen the cognitive decline of current President Joe Biden over the last three years. It has accelerated over the last three months, and it will not improve. Even the most ardent Democratic politicians and pundits have overtly acknowledged that he cannot lead the country for four more months, much less four more years.
Lights are out on the reelection of Joe Biden. His reluctance to leave the race revealed that a small insular group of close advisors, including his wife Jill, were keeping him isolated because they liked running the White House and remaining in the limelight.
There is complete discord and disarray within the Democratic Party. Democratic leaders in the Senate and House have been urging Biden’s handlers to allow him to step aside as their presidential candidate. Their fear was that Biden’s name atop the ticket would not only assure the loss of the White House but would cause the Democrats to lose the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.
Biden’s recent departure from the race will allow the Democrats to field a potentially viable presidential candidate, probably Vice President Kamala Harris. However, regardless of whoever is selected to be the Democratic nominee, the assassination attempt on the life of President Trump and his iconic fist pump has galvanized the Republican Party base and probably made Donald J. Trump the 47th President of the United States.
See you next week.
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Steve Flowers
Alabama’s premier columnist and commentator, Steve has analyzed Alabama politics for national television audiences on CBS, PBS, ABC and the British Broadcasting Network. Steve has been an up close participant and observer of the Alabama political scene for more than 50 years and is generally considered the ultimate authority on Alabama politics and Alabama political history.