Former US President Donald Trump told The Washington Examiner that after the assassination, he completely rewrote the speech he will deliver at the opening of the Republican convention on July 15 in Milwaukee. There he will be officially nominated as a candidate for the elections in November.
According to Trump, the initial version of the speech was supposed to be "sensational" and "one of the most amazing"; much of the emphasis of the speech would have been placed on criticizing the policies of incumbent President Joe Biden.
"Honestly, now it would be a completely different speech,", the politician said. He stated that instead of "revolting" voters, intends to "use the historic moment" and unite them: "This is a chance to unite the country. I was given this chance." According to Trump, the attack against him at the rally in Pennsylvania completely changed the course of the election campaign, which is recognized by both Republicans and Democrats.
Trump believes he avoided death because he looked away from the rally participants to look at the data screen he was broadcasting during the event. "I rarely take my eyes off the crowd. If I hadn't done that at that time, we wouldn't be having this conversation today,'' he told The Washington Examiner.
GOP congressmen believe the assassination attempt against Trump has increased his chances of winning the November election. According to members of the Democratic Party, the question of replacing President Joe Biden as a future candidate has lost its relevance for now, NBC reports. Those discussions have intensified since Biden's underperformance at the debates in late June.
At a rally in Butler on July 13, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire with a rifle. Trump was wounded in the right ear and two of his supporters were also wounded. One of the participants in the event, a 50-year-old firefighter, died.
The shooter was killed by Secret Service agents. His motives have not yet been established. After the incident, Biden, instructed to provide full security for Trump, urged Americans to "chill" heated political passions and not to turn politics "into a battlefield or, God forbid, a killing arena".