OPINION
Sometimes it takes a tragedy to unite a nation.
Since the attempted assassination of former-President Trump, it appears that a genuine opportunity for national healing, here in the United States, and unity may be upon us.
When those shots rang out on Saturday evening in Butler, Pennsylvania, the whole nation heard them and knew that an attack on an American president --- current or former ---constitutes an attack on America itself.
By a matter of millimeters, the nation was spared from an outcome which easily could have set off a chain reaction of unspeakable tragedy.
As it is, we mourn the loss of a heroic husband and father, Corey Comperatore, who died shielding his family from the would-be assassin’s bullets.
Yet, despite the anger, grief, and outrage that millions of Americans justifiably feel, we all seem to recognize that there is a chance for a renewed sense of national unity to emerge from the ashes of this crisis, with Donald Trump in the lead.
The left has expended its full arsenal against Donald Trump after years of attacks, and yet he is still standing firmly up to the forces arrayed against him, depicted in the now iconic image of him holding his fist in the air as he rose from the stage floor amidst a scrum of U.S. Secret Service agents.
Melania Trump framed the issue perfectly in a letter issued following the assassination attempt. "A monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine attempted to ring out Donald’s passion --- his laughter, ingenuity, love of music, and inspiration . . . the generous and caring man who I have been with through the best of times and the worst of times."
Sadly, it took the shedding of Trump’s own blood and that of rally-goers for many people to realize that Donald Trump may be raw, but he's real human flesh with flaws and a family.
Even those who once reviled Trump, viewing him as the embodiment of pure evil, have been forced to accept his inherent humanity and goodness.
And in so doing, many are beginning to reconsider whether their opposition to Trump was based on reason, irrational emotion, or misinformation.
Amber Rose, a popular model, television star, and rapper from Philadelphia, spoke at the Republican National Convention on Monday --- just two days after the assassination attempt --- to describe her own transformation from Trump hater to MAGA supporter even before the attempt on Trump’s life.
According to Ms. Rose, she reflexively assumed Trump was a racist, because that’s what everyone around her believed.
But, at the urging of her father, a 20-year veteran, she did her own research and realized that she actually agreed with Trump on most issues. "Donald Trump and his supporters don’t care if you’re Black, white, gay or straight, it’s all love," she proclaimed in her remarks.
Teamsters president Sean O’Brien spoke from the same stage --- the first time a Teamsters leader has ever addressed the RNC.
O’Brien struck a conciliatory, uniting tone when he said, "I think we all can agree, whether people like him or they don’t like him, in light of what happened to him on Saturday, he has proven to be one tough S.O.B."
Of course, these appearances follow the endorsements of Trump from Elon Musk and Bill Ackman immediately following the assassination attempt.
These are entrepreneurs with historic ties to the Democratic Party. But they have made very clear their disdain for the censorship industrial complex and the tolerance of pro-Hamas protesters on American campuses, respectively --- both issues that the Democrats have used to demonize Trump and conservative Americans.
Current and former opponents such as Amber Rose, Sean O’Brien, Elon Musk, and Bill Ackman are performing a valuable service for our country.
How?
By giving others who share their views permission to put aside partisanship and pursue a path of reconciliation and unity, especially following the attempt on former-President Trump’s life.
Americans are emerging from a trance of hatred that has been enflamed by years of partisan demagoguery, and they’re opening their eyes to the possibility of coming together once again under a banner of patriotism and common purpose, and a rejection of political attacks and vitriol.
Now it’s Mr. Trump’s turn, one which he took, on stage, at the convention Thursday night.
He’s made it known that the attempt on his life changed his speech and that he will use his brush with death to unite America like never before.
Looking at his eyes and facial expressions during the first nights of the convention, where he appeared emotional, reflective, and spirit-driven, America has great anticipation for his acceptance speech.
Through the crescendo of the GOP convention, this may indeed be the most uniting moment in recent American history that we should embrace to enter a new dawn for America.
Mrs. Trump said it best in her letter, "And let us remember that when the time comes to look beyond the left and the right, beyond the red and the blue, we all come from families with the passion to fight for a better life together, while we are here, in this earthly realm. Dawn is here again. Let us reunite. Now."
This week, Donald Trump and the Republican Party are openly appealing to those who hunger for national unity. We should all hope and pray that they succeed.
One day, we may look back and realize that the blood spilled in Butler, Pennsylvania healed and united us.
Mark Serrano is a former senior adviser to Donald J. Trump for President, and the founder of ProActive Strategies.
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