Donald Trump said over the weekend that the failed assassination attempt that took place at one his rallies led him to rewrite his entire speech for this week’s Republican National Convention. While the pre-shooting speech was apparently going to attack President Joe Biden, Trump’s remarks will apparently now bring together a divided country—and maybe even the world.

Speaking to the Washington Examiner on Sunday, Trump said, “The speech I was going to give on Thursday was going to be a humdinger. Had this not happened, this would’ve been one of the most incredible speeches,” noting that it would have focused on Biden’s policies. “Honestly, it’s going to be a whole different speech now.” After being hit in the ear by a bullet during the assassination attempt, which also took the life of one of his supporters and injured others, Trump said he now views the address he will give in Milwaukee as an opportunity to unite the country. “This is a chance to bring the whole country, even the whole world, together,” he said. “The speech will be a lot different, a lot different than it would’ve been two days ago.”

Various allies of the ex-president have claimed that they believe he is a new man in the wake of Saturday’s attempt on his life. Speaking to Axios about Trump’s stated plan to use the convention to unify people, Trump pal and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson said, “I think it’s real. Getting shot in the face changes a man.” A Republican close to the Trump campaign told my colleague Gabriel Sherman that “Trump put the word out that he doesn’t want any talk of revenge or retaliation in speeches or anywhere else.” (After the shooting in Pennsylvania, Senator J.D. Vance—named Trump’s running mate on Monday—blamed the current president, writing on social media that the Biden campaign’s “rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.” Republican Mike Collins wrote that “Joe Biden sent the orders,” while Marjorie Taylor Greene claimed that “Democrats wanted this to happen.”)

Obviously, it would be great if Trump were to actually change the way he speaks on the campaign trail and focus on unity, though only time will tell whether that happens. Previously, the former president has called his political opponents “vermin,” threatened retribution against his perceived enemies, and dubbed people he doesn’t like “human scum.” On Monday, reacting to the dismissal of his classified-documents case and referring to the other legal cases against him, he wrote on Truth Social: “The Democrat Justice Department coordinated ALL of these Political Attacks, which are an Election Interference conspiracy against Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, ME.”

But sure, maybe he really has changed. Speaking to Sherman, sources who talked with Trump privately over the weekend claimed he really, truly seems different. “He was like, ‘Holy shit, that was close.’ He feels blessed,” one person said.

Stay tuned?

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