‘Changed man’ Donald Trump still cannot get out of his own way
By
Timothy P. Carney
August 13, 2024 11:56 am
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If you attend enough political speeches, you can sense their tempo, and guess when they are moving towards their conclusion. And if you cover enough conventions and political rallies, you develop tactics for getting in and out of the arena or your row.
In Milwaukee last month, former President Donald Trump told the story of getting shot by a would-be assassin. Then he issued a call for optimism and unity, thanked his family, and praised his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH). Next he spoke briefly on the central themes of the convention — make America wealthy again, make America safe again, and make America strong again.
At that moment, I was surprised and impressed with Trump. I wasn’t naive enough to believe he was a changed man, but a small part of me thought, “Wow, he’s saying sane and relevant things. If he continues to run this way, he will be hard to beat.”
That moment, sitting in a lower row in the upper level, so that I would be surrounded by Trump supporters, was probably Trump’s peak moment. And nearly every step down from the peak has been a deliberate choice by Trump himself.
As I sensed this fine acceptance speech arcing toward a climax, I extricated myself from my row so that I could perch near the exit of the upper level.
A few minutes later, though, I realized that this wasn’t going where I thought it was. I had thought Trump was winding down a 30-minute speech. Instead he was just getting started on his regular rally speech — and that’s an hour long.
So I left.
Outside of the arena, I took in a couple of songs from a string orchestra on the corner of Highland Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. After the second number, a police officer looked up at a TV visible in a store window and said, “He’s still talking.” As I passed a cabbie on my walk across Milwaukee, I heard the former president’s familiar ramblings in his new slightly muted tone.
In the end Trump gave the longest acceptance speech in convention history.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/3092125/trump-still-cannot-get-out-of-his-own-way/
