“I’m not supposed to be here tonight”: Five takeaways from Trump’s RNC acceptance speech

• Trump’s 92-minute acceptance speech, the longest in convention history, capped the four-day Republican National Convention held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Former President Donald Trump officially accepted the Republican nomination for a record-setting third-consecutive bid for the White House on Thursday.

His 92-minute acceptance speech, the longest in convention history, capped the four-day Republican National Convention held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where tens of thousands of Republicans converged on the city to participate in the GOP’s event.

Here are five takeaways for your water cooler conversations:

1. “I’m not supposed to be here tonight.”

The bravado America is accustomed to seeing from the former President was tempered during his acceptance speech on Thursday.

Trump presented a much more somber and paced tone overall, although there were flashes of passion woven into his remarks when drawing differences between his time as the nation’s chief executive and the current Democratic administration.

Trump’s humbleness was displayed when he opened his speech, recounting the events on Saturday when he survived an attempted assassination in Pennsylvania at a campaign rally.

“Let me begin this evening by expressing my gratitude to the American people for your outpouring of love and support following the assassination attempt at my rally on Saturday,” Trump said, wearing a bandage on his right ear where the would-be assassin’s bullet pierced his ear. “As you already know, the assassin’s bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life.”

He said if he had not moved his head the assassin’s bullet would have perfectly hit its mark.

“I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” Trump said, to which the attendees responded with chants of, “Yes, you are.”

“Thank you. But I’m not,” the former President responded. “And I’ll tell you. I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty God.”

Trump expressed how overwhelmed he was by the response of the Pennsylvania crowd on Saturday, noting that they did not run to the exits when the shots rang out. Instead, he said, the rallygoers stood with him and once they realized he was alive “roared with pride for our country like no crowd I have ever heard before.” 

“For the rest of my life, I will be grateful for the love shown by that giant audience of patriots that stood bravely on that fateful evening in Pennsylvania,” Trump said.

2. “Bullets were continuing to fly as very brave Secret Service agents rushed to the stage.”

In the days since the attempted assassination, questions have swirled from social media to the halls of Congress as to how a 20-year-old was able to climb onto the roof of a nearby building where law enforcement was allegedly inside and shoot a presidential candidate.

Congressional hearings will begin next week when the House Homeland Security Committee to set to hear from Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as well as Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray and Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, if they are permitted to testify. President Joe Biden has even called for a thorough investigation into the planning and response to Trump’s rally.

READ MORE: Mississippi Congressmen to participate in Homeland Security hearing on attempted assassination of Trump

Yet, Trump did not take the opportunity to criticize the Secret Service publicly during this speech. Instead, he showed grace and thankfulness to those entrusted with protecting his life.

“Bullets were continuing to fly as very brave Secret Service agents rushed to the stage. And they really did. They rushed to the stage,” Trump said of his security detail.

He went on to say that the agents are “great people at great risk.”

“I will tell you, and pounced on top of me so that I would be protected,” Trump continued. “There was blood pouring everywhere, and yet in a certain way I felt very safe because I had God on my side. I felt that.”

Trump said bullets were flying over, yet he felt serene.

“But now the Secret Service agents were putting themselves in peril. They were in very dangerous territory,” he said, adding, “And then it all stopped. Our Secret Service sniper, from a much greater distance and with only one bullet used, took the assassin’s life. Took him out.”

The crowd cheered.

3. “Biden. I’m not going to use the name anymore. Just one time.”

Trump only addressed the incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden by name one time during his speech, and he did not address Vice President Kamala Harris at all.

It was an obvious decision by the former President not to directly go after Biden, attempting to provide a greater sense of demeanor and even calling for unity in the nation. Trump did, however, frequently make reference to the current Administration or “the other guy” when he drew distinctions between the two on various policy positions ranging from the crisis at the southern border to foreign wars.

“If you took the 10 worst presidents in the history of the United States. Think of it. The 10 worst. Added them up, they will not have done the damage that Biden has done. Only going to use the term once. Biden. I’m not going to use the name anymore. Just one time,” Trump said. “The damage that he’s done to this country is unthinkable. It’s unthinkable.”

In fact, his only “personal attack,” as media pundits would label it, came when he namedropped the former Speaker of the House, calling her “Crazy Nancy Pelosi.” The reference came when mentioning the large number of subpoenas his children, Don Jr. and Eric, has had to endure from congressional Democrats.

“They got subpoenaed more than any people probably in the history of the United States. Every week they get another subpoena from the Democrats,” Trump said. “Crazy Nancy Pelosi, the whole thing. Just boom, boom, boom.”

Trump called on the lawfare to stop, saying “they’re destroying our country.”

“We have to work on making America great again, not on beating people,” Trump said, adding in reference to Democrats’ constant legal pursuits, “If they would devote that genius to helping our country, we’d have a much stronger and better country.”

Biden is facing increased calls for him to drop out of the race. The uncertainty surrounding if Biden will step aside may have been a factor in Trump’s decision not to directly name the incumbent, choosing rather to mostly refer to the Democrat Administration’s policies.

READ MORE: Biden facing increased calls to bow out

Reports have run rampant over the past few days of national Democratic leaders, including former President Barack Obama, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries telling Biden that his staying in the race is not only hurting their chances to win back the White House but negatively impacting down ticket Democrats.

4. “So, J.D., you’re going to be doing this for a long time; enjoy the ride.”

The Republican presidential nominee gave a strong endorsement of his new running mate, Ohio U.S. Senator J.D. Vance.

Vance, a first term Senator who has only been in office less than two years since winning the seat in 2022, has endeared himself to the former President after criticizing him early in Trump’s political career. Yet now, Trump is singing his praises and believes he will be the future of the Republican Party nationally.

“I’m thrilled to have a new friend and partner fighting by my side: the next vice president of the United States, the current senator from Ohio, J.D. Vance, and his incredible wife, Usha,” Trump said.

Trump said Vance, 39, was going to be a great vice president.

“He’ll be with this country and with this movement. Greatest movement in the history of our country,” Trump said, adding that, “he’s going to be with us for a long time, and it was an honor to select him… So, J.D., you’re going to be doing this for a long time; enjoy the ride.”

Earlier in the week, Trump’s eldest son, Don Jr. said there was “a very high chance” that Vance would be the President in 2028.

“He’s the one guy in that movement that’s a politician that’s out there that actually really speaks to the America-first people and isn’t sort of, ‘We’ll be right back to the establishment,’” Trump Jr. said of Vance at an Axios event as reported by the New York Post.

The Trump-Vance campaign is already setting the prospective Vice President on the trail, with speaking engagements coming in key battleground states where his rustic roots and American Dream story, rising from nothing to run on a major political party ticket, will be on full display.

5. “Tragically, the shooter claimed the life of one of our fellow Americans.”

Former President Trump took a significant amount of time to honor the life of Corey Comperatore, the former firefighter, husband and father who died in Saturday’s Pennsylvania shooting.

Trump shared that he had spoken with Comperatore’s wife as well as the two others injured by the would-be assassin, David Dutch and James Copenhaver.

Comperatore’s turnout gear was placed on stage near Trump as he spoke. The former President said Comperatore was a highly respected former fire chief who was accompanied that fateful day by his wife, Helen and his two daughters.

“He lost his life selflessly acting as a human shield to protect them from flying bullets. He went right over the top of them and was hit. What a fine man he was,” Trump said.

At one point, Trump walked over to the firefighter uniform and kissed the helmet, before calling for a moment a silence in honor of Comperatore.

“For the rest of my life, I will be grateful for the love shown by that giant audience of patriots that stood bravely on that fateful evening in Pennsylvania,” Trump said. “Tragically, the shooter claimed the life of one of our fellow Americans: Corey Comperatore. Unbelievable person, everybody tells me. Unbelievable. And seriously wounded two other great warriors. Spoke to them today: David Dutch and James Copenhaver. Two great people. I also spoke to all three families of these tremendous people.”

Trump said he would never forget them, noting that over the past five days some $6.3 million has been raised to support those families.

“When speaking to the family, I told them, I said, ‘Well, I’m going to be sending a lot of money, but it can’t compensate,'” Trump noted.. “They all said the same thing: ‘You’re right, sir; we appreciate so much what you’re doing, but nothing can take the place, in the case of Corey.’ And the other two.”