Donald Trump 3.0: Kinder and gentler, yes, but with signature warnings of apocalypse, too

MILWAUKEE − It was a convention acceptance speech like none in history.

Donald Trump, in his first public remarks since narrowly escaping a would-be assassin's bullet, described in a hushed and somber voice being hit in the ear, ducking for cover, finding his hand drenched with blood and then raising his fist in the air − an effort, he said, to reassure the supporters at the Pennsylvania rally that he was all right.

The iconic photograph showing him with his hand raised and blood on his face, an American flag behind him, was projected behind him on the stage and around the hall.

"I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty God," he told the crowd at the Republican National Convention, calling for national unity − a new persona for the most polarizing politician in modern American history, one who has fierce supporters and equally fierce opponents.

The compelling story, which brought some of the conventioneers to tears, was in the script loaded into the teleprompter on stage. But then Trump began the sort of extemporaneous riff he is renowned for, and he turned to the more familiar rhetoric of grievance. The words in the teleprompter stopped moving, waiting.

He blamed the current administration − the one headed by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris − for the "weaponization of the justice system," and he bristled at their attacks that he has threatened democracy.

"I am the one saving democracy for the people of our country," he said. He bragged that "the fake documents case" against him had been thrown out by a Florida judge he appointed in a ruling that is being appealed.

"If the Democrats want to unify our country they should stop these partisan witch hunts," he said, still off script. Denouncing "crazy Nancy Pelosi," the speaker emerita of the House, he declared. "We beat them on impeachments; we beat them on indictments."

Then he went back on script, and the more measured words in the teleprompter began to move again.

The opening underscored a fundamental question in the campaign ahead: classic Trump, outspoken and sometimes outrageous? Or New Trump, transformed by his near-death experience?

Or maybe both?

Hopes for a more sweeping victory this time

With Democrats in disarray, Trump now stands in the most commanding political position of his life.

Since he first won the presidential nomination in 2016, in his first bid for elective office, most of the establishment Republicans who then viewed him with alarm have changed their minds, shut their mouths or left the party.

What's more, the Democrats are in historic disarray. It's not even clear who will be nominated at their national convention in Chicago next month.

Three weeks ago, Biden's disastrous performance in his debate with Trump fueled an explosion of concern about his age and mental acuity. Since then, pressure from congressional leaders and big donors and slipping polls are now coming to a head, raising the prospect that Biden within days may announce he is stepping back from his reelection bid.

That could prompt Democrats to choose Harris or even someone else at their convention in Chicago next month.

Though the past three elections have been breathtakingly close, decided by tens of thousands of votes in a handful of states, Trump partisans now see the possibility of a more sweeping victory in the Electoral College and the first win of the popular vote for Republicans in two decades.

In the three-day buildup to Thursday night's main event, speaker after speaker described the former president as strikingly different from his bombastic image. An affectionate grandfather, a champion of working women, a devoted friend. A blessed leader who felt God's protection from a would-be assassin's bullet.

In short, a kinder and gentler Trump who could appeal to voters who have viewed him with skepticism or worse.

"Tonight, whether you've supported me in the past or not, I hope you will support me in the future because I will bring back the American dream," he said.

The plan was that Trump wouldn't mention either Biden or Harris by name, a nod to his new civility, though he slipped when he called Biden the worst president in American history. He caught himself.

"This gentleman I don't want to mention, but the one time I had to," he explained.

Warnings of catastrophe ahead

He warned of apocalypse ahead if Democrats held the White House, of a country overwhelmed by illegal immigration and growing crime, crushed by inflation and threatened by foreign adversaries.

"Our planet is teetering on the edge of World War III, and this will be a war like no other," he said.

All in all, the speech had more of the air of a extemporaneous campaign rally than the carefully crafted acceptance address with soaring rhetoric and a crystalline themes. At 92 minutes, it was the longest acceptance speech in modern times − swamping the previous record, which he set at the 2016 convention.

The audience in the hall didn't seem to mind, interrupting his speech with cheers and applause too many times to count.

Afterward, on stage, Trump was joined first by his wife, Melania, making her first appearance at the convention, and by his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, and by family members who stood with him.

While they waved, conventioneers in the upper decks cleared out and the hundreds of balloons that had dropped from the rafters were wafted around like beach balls.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump 3.0: Kinder and gentler, but with warnings of apocalypse, too