A more positive outlook. Less angry. More forward-looking. A close brush with death can change the way you see your life going forward.
In March 1981, two months after taking office, Ronald Reagan was shot outside the Washington Hilton.
One bullet punctured his lung, inches from his heart. He was swarmed by Secret Service agents and rushed to the hospital.
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He chose to walk into the emergency room. It was a display of courage.
In the operating theater, he complained jokingly, that the doctors had ruined his $1,000 custom-made suit.
When First Lady Nancy Reagan arrived, he said, “Honey, I forgot to duck.”
President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan (Ronald Reagan Presidential Library/Getty Images / Getty Images)
His humor went down well with a worried nation. The polls showed his approval rating went straight up.
Reagan believed that God had spared his life so that he could go on to fulfill a greater purpose.
Could that be Trump four decades later? He has said he was surprised at his survival.
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He was clearly grateful for the heartfelt reception he received at the convention, and he is rewriting his acceptance speech to stress national unity.
He’s looking forward. He survived. He’s positive.
Former State Department senior adviser Christian Whiton argues the images of Trump being shot will inspire a new right on Making Money.
The assassination attempt changed Ronald Reagan, and it changed the way the country felt about him.
Something similar seems to be happening now with Donald J. Trump.
