Well, it didn’t last long.
Through Sunday and into Monday morning, one of the most radical political transformations in United States history was being written. The old Trump, the evil and malicious political operator who is hell-bent on revenge and stealing the election, is no longer. Politicians, commentators and writers were told that after the shooting and his miraculous escape on Saturday, a new type had emerged.
He had even planned to break his NCR script and, instead of making plans to attack Biden (and write what he called a “humdinger”), he would provide a moderate, unifying figure who would be there to heal the wounds dividing United States. “Honestly, now it’s going to be a totally different story. It is a possibility to unite the country. I’ve given that possibility,” Trump said. The time comes, the guy comes.
And who better than Donald Trump to unite the country, right?The script was being radically rewritten. Meet New Trump, a martyr, now “spiritual” and who has now decided to unify United States.
It’s like Lazurus.
He is a ban summoned from death’s door in the new account of Pilgrim’s Progress (Trump edition) on Monday morning.
It was also complete bullshit.
Early Monday morning, when news broke that a Florida judge (and, coincidentally, a Trump-appointed judge) had ignored the classified documents case, the real Trump re-emerged and spoke to Truth Social;
“As we move forward in the unity of our country after the horrific events of Saturday, this dismissal of the illegal indictment in Florida will be only the first step, temporarily followed by the dismissal of ALL witch hunts: the January 6 hoax in Washington, D. C. , the Manhattan District Attorney’s Zombie case, the attorney general’s scam in New York, false accusations about a woman I never met (an online photo from decades ago with her husband doesn’t count). . . . “
It was a damascene conversion until this post hit Truth Social, and then Trump went back to being Saul.
The first half-sentence of the message is, comically, a nod to the Lazarus-like figure we were told would emerge from his near-death experience. But it didn’t last. And neither does this new fictional creation.
In the seconds after the shooting and after Trump stood back up, surrounded by Secret Service agents, he raised his right fist and, his face contorted with a mixture of hatred and rage, shouted “Fight!Fight! Fight!”
No one is immune to the feeling of anguish, worry and anger that can invade someone who has just escaped. But this vengeful reaction, hatred and anger is in line with everything we know about the former president.
And yet, in a matter of hours, it was as if Trump had been replaced through a double frame. They were recruited to play the Good Boy (outside of Trump’s herbal repertoire). Soon we had a short and unique article on Truth Social, “Unite America! “.
Have you hacked your account?
Well, yes, in a way. His two co-directors of the crusade, Chris LaCivita and Susan Wiles, saw that the reaction of senior Republicans to the shooting blamed Democrats.
Trump’s collaborators in his absurd transformation are Chris LaCivita (immediately to his right) and Susie Wiles (immediately to his left).
The language was incendiary and intemperate. They said it would do nothing to convince Trump’s potential electorate, which had so far avoided their divisions, to go to the polls in November.
LaCivita and Wiles called a meeting Sunday morning to cancel the attack dogs. Republican Committee speakers were told the GOP would turn down the volume, not turn it up, this week in Milwaukee. Trump had had a chance to seem like a martyr, and the Republican Party can now provide a newly sympathetic, even spiritual, figure. It is a political gift.
As Politico reported: “The pivot emerged from a Sunday morning phone call with Susie Wiles, Chris LaCivita, Jason Miller and pollster Tony Fabrizio. . . After hours of relentless and incendiary Republican attacks accusing Democrats of inciting violence, the team agreed.
The first reaction of Trump and the Republicans to the assassination bid was the fist-pumping, snarling “fight, fight, fight.” But that was quickly overtaken and turned into a message of unity. Which lasted under 24 hours.
And it worked. The influential online political page Axios, a headline donated by famed political moderate Tucker Carlson, read, “Getting shot in the face changes a man. “
“His advisers tell us that Trump is planning his moment by toning down his Trump character and stepping up his efforts to unify a dusty United States. “
The guy we have known for over 8 years, during our political dates, is no more. A guy who decided to get revenge, who raises his voice instead of lowering it, uses inflammatory language, channels grievances and challenges to each other. At every turn, he lies and tries to borrow the elections, he no longer exists. No more Mr. Nasty Guy.
Seemingly.
Co-campaign managers LaCivita and Wiles have so far succeeded in crafting a more moderate Trump. His performance in the debate was oddly benign (aside from the lies), and he decided not to criticize Biden when the president was attacked for his performance in the debate over the past two weeks. This stunt duo will have to continue to step up, push aside the old Trump and play Mr. Good Guy between now and November.
For this pivot (or rewrite/scam) to work, they will have to continue to master it at all times. The omens, based on his Truth Social outburst this morning, are not good.
But it will be an incredible act to watch.
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