MILWAUKEE — The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump has reinforced a sense of unity among top Republicans heading to Milwaukee for this week’s Republican National Convention, a weeklong event that will undoubtedly feel the ripple effects of the attempted kill the party’s presidential candidate.
“Delegates were already excited about the RNC in Milwaukee,” said Niraj Antani, a Republican Ohio state senator and convention delegate. “Now, delegates will go to the RNC feeling a duty to protect President Trump and the values he fights for.”
The Saturday night assassination attempt at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, occurred at the hands of who the FBI identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. The alleged shooter fired several shots from a nearby rooftop, narrowly missing Trump, killing one rally attendee and wounding two more.
“What would already be a significant moment of unification behind President Trump will now become the most unified and vocal support for a presidential candidate this nation has ever witnessed,” said Trump-backed Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Cabrerra, who served on the convention’s platform committee.
While the assassination attempt increased the already tight security around the convention, it remains unclear how much it will change the official schedule. Still, it’s almost impossible to expect the tone and focus to remain completely unchanged.
On Sunday afternoon, there was a prayer vigil for Trump scheduled in Milwaukee.
An RNC spokesperson did not return a request for comment.
“Emotions are running high,” said Illinois RNC National Committeeman Richard Porter. “The resolution is even stronger. Our nation avoided catastrophe by less than an inch – many see the hand of providence.”
“But having said that, the mood of our party is stable and grateful,” he added.
A source who works with one of the convention’s scheduled speakers said the RNC has advised those with speaking slots to continue and avoid altering their approach.
“Project confidence,” the person said. “Maintain the status quo.”
Bernie Moreno, who is among a group of Republican Senate candidates scheduled to speak at the convention on Tuesday night, was still unsure how the assassination attempt might affect speaker lists or the substance of what he would say.
“President Trump was miraculously saved by divine intervention,” he said. “I’m living one day at a time.”
Trump campaign officials went into a “communications blackout” Saturday night after the shooting, according to a memo NBC News obtained writing from Trump’s political director, James Blair, so it is so far difficult to predict how the attempt on Trump’s life will impact the convention’s formal events, but so far comments directly from Trump have expressed gratitude and avoided any open policy.
“Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers yesterday, as it was only God who prevented the unthinkable from happening,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “WE WILL NOT, but instead we will remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Evil.”
Trump also spoke with President Joe Biden, a call aides described as “nice, short and respectful.” [Biden or Trump aides?]
Leora Levy, an RNC National Committeewoman from Connecticut who Trump nominated to be ambassador to Chile in 2019, said she also hopes the convention will be the path between following the party’s principles but also not being too divisive.
“It’s very sad,” she said. “Political rhetoric in our country has reached a level it should never reach. They [Democrats] They did all kinds of things to demonize Trump. I mean, they called him Hitler.”
Levy will give the blessing during the first night of the convention and said she will focus in part on unity.
“I wrote a prayer that focuses on uniting our country,” she said. “It encourages people to be strong and courageous. I hope people remain steadfast in our values, but we can disagree without being disagreeable.”
Still, some of the party’s biggest names quickly turned to social media to adopt much more political tones, an indication that speeches and events at the RNC will be more combative when discussing the assassination attempt.
“Today is not just an isolated incident,” said Ohio Senator JD Vance, who is on the shortlist to become Trump’s running mate posted in X. “The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs.”
“The rhetoric led directly to the attempted assassination of President Trump,” he continued.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
