If Monday was the resurrection, with talk of miracles and divine intervention as a bandaged Trump appeared in public for the first time after being shot, then Tuesday was the healing.
On the second day of the Republican Party convention in Milwaukee, the former president was praised by former opponents who months earlier had called him crazy or belittled his election chances.
“America has an amazing capacity for self-correction,” said Nikki Haley, Trump’s final primary opponent.
“Right now, we have an opportunity to put aside our differences and focus on what unites us and makes our country stronger.”
It was healing. To a certain extent.
Nikki Haley called Trump “unhinged” during the campaign. Now she says she’s proud to support him. She was among former rivals calling for a new unity in the party
Boos rang out through the arena as the former South Carolina governor took the red, white and blue stage at the convention.
They were quickly drowned out by the determined applause of other delegates who wanted to hear her speak. After all, this was no decorum-busting rally crowd of the MAGA base, but a state delegation of elected officials and party operatives who know what it takes to win the November election.
So they roared their approval when Haley gave Trump her “strong endorsement.” He watched from the “family suite,” son Eric to one side, running mate Sen. J.D. Vance.
Leslie Rossi wasn’t with the cheerers. She stood in silence.
“Don’t talk about that woman,” said the Pennsylvania representative, who is world-famous as the owner of Trump House, a store and meeting place.
Rossi could not forgive her for ignoring Trump during his term, when she served for two years as permanent representative to the United Nations.
“She doesn’t give up easily,” she said.
But Haley largely charmed the audience. It was almost an audition for a new role under Trump, as she urged the undecided to put aside their doubts about the former president, just as she had done.
“Our country was respected when Donald Trump was our commander in chief,” she said. “Joe Biden has failed this country.”
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump attends the second day of the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Haley got an awkward welcome, but won over her doubters with a defense of Trump
When Haley left the stage, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis received a much warmer welcome
Trump sat with his eyes narrowed as he began his speech, looking impassive, just as he had when he was on trial in New York.
But even he was convinced. Sometimes he stood up to applaud, moved by her show of support. His eyes filled with gratitude.
There were no boos when she finished, only cheers and applause. It wasn’t exactly deafening, but at least the crowd didn’t stand up and turn their backs on her, as they did on Senator Ted Cruz, who had fought Trump to the bitter end for the nomination eight years ago.
Everything changed Saturday when an assassin’s bullet hit Trump in the ear.
The convention saw a different Trump, displaying a new mix of gratitude and vulnerability.
For the second night in a row he was greeted with a deafening roar, which he responded to with a clenched-fist salute.
“When the president walks in, it’s like God Almighty walking in,” said George Bochetto, a Republican representative from Pennsylvania.
Trump looks out over the crowd during the second day of the convention
Senator Ted Cruz was another former rival who spoke Tuesday. In 2016, the convention audience turned away from him after a bitter race for the presidential nomination
He wasn’t the only one who saw something spiritual happening. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the governor of Arkansas and his former press secretary, said Trump’s survival was a reminder that God wasn’t done with the nation.
His daughter-in-law Lara Trump quoted Proverbs: “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as brave as a lion.”
Before her, delegates mingled in the aisles. Two were dressed as American soldiers from the Revolutionary War. Brick Suit Guy, known for his mural-patterned suit, sat in his usual spot with the California delegation.
The Texas delegates were easy to spot in their Stetsons and giant belt buckles. One man paired a seersucker suit with a top hat bearing an image of Lincoln.
And a trendsetter came with an ear that he had repaired with paper, as a tribute to Trump.
The Trump uniform of navy suit, white shirt and red tie has a new accessory: the ear patch
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis followed Haley onto the stage to confess and ask for absolution.
His fight against the woke movement gave him a stronger foothold among the faithful, and he was rewarded with a warmer welcome.
“Donald Trump has been demonized, he has been indicted, he has been prosecuted — and he almost lost his life,” he said.
He also provided some of the greatest hilarity.
America cannot afford four more years of a “Weekend at Bernie’s” presidency, he said, referring to a comedy about two friends who try to pretend that their murdered employer is still alive.
Trump loved it, threw his head back and laughed heartily.
Other moments were more somber. One of the evening’s themes was uncertainty, with speeches from a mother who lost her 15-year-old son to fentanyl, a man whose sister was murdered by an illegal immigrant, and a mother who felt helpless when two of the people accused of killing her son were released by the Manhattan attorney general.
Sen. J.D. Vance prepares to speak Wednesday night after being announced as Trump’s running mate. He is seen here with Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle
The crowd erupted in the loudest cheers of the night when Madeline Brame named the accuser, Alvin Bragg, the prosecutor in Trump’s hush-money case and a hated figure among Republicans.
It was a reminder that Trump’s new focus on unity works only to a point.
When one of the themes of the evening is that Democrats are being attacked for failing the country’s public safety, there is little room for a message of national unity.
At a time when the country’s polarization is fueling concerns about rising political violence, the convention is about uniting ranks around Trump to better defeat President Joe Biden.
The booing for Haley was nothing to worry about, said North Carolina Rep. Leigh Brown, who wore red Republican elephants on her earrings. Nothing more than the remnants of a bitter primary that would eventually be forgotten.
“I think there’s just hurt feelings,” she said.