He’s the most image-conscious man alive today. Years of being in reality television has taught him well. So he knew immediately after being shot, that he could not cower. Could not appear weak. Not for even a second. So there’s that defiant fist-pump. And it’s dumb, in that moment — he’s making himself to be an even bigger target. Had there been a second shooter, this could have been a perfect time to take out Trump with a second, well-timed bullet…
But he doesn’t care. He’s got the Devil’s luck and he’s completely confident that he will survive. And in that moment, all that matters to Trump? Image. So he played his cards. He wrestled against his own security team, stood up, and raised his fist. Face bloodied. Lips mouthing: “Fight! Fight! Fight!” Because he’s a fighter. He wants to be seen as one. As that Churchillian bulldog. The John Wayne. The unbendable, unbreakable, conquering hero. A man whose ego is truly larger than his sense of self-preservation. And in that moment, he was brave. Foolish, but brave.
He released a statement, too. And it was remarkably measured. Calm. Not fiery, not passionate, not unhinged… but it read, for the first time in a long time, like the statement of a man who has listened to advisors. And has toned down his rhetoric somewhat. Time will tell if this will remain the case. It is known that President Joe Biden reached out to former President Trump the very same evening, and that the two men talked. Biden’s team even pulled some of the strongest anti-Trump ads off the television. It was a remarkable show of (relative) unity in a divided country. One that caught me by surprise to tell you the truth.
What will history remember? It depends entirely on how the next days and weeks play out. Goodwill won is lost easily with a few ill-timed statements or actions. Trump could use the attack to his benefit in the campaign. And the Democrats, meanwhile, will keep hammering the fact that the shooter was a registered Republican gun-nut who used the same automatic assault rifle their party had wanted to ban for civilian use… which narrative will win? We’ll find out on November. Now, to use Trump’s own words after a school shooting in Iowa six months prior: “Get over it!”[1]
Footnotes
[1] Trump tells supporters 'we have to get over it' after Iowa school shooting
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