As the dust settles following the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump and the much-anticipated Republican National Convention gets underway, the former president’s new comments calling for “unity and resilience” raise a question: Can a close encounter with death change someone like Trump?
There There is considerable evidence Near-death experiences can bring about deep and lasting changes in those who experience them. Dr. Bruce Grayson, a specialist in psychiatry and neurobehavioral science at the University of Virginia and one of the world’s leading experts on near-death experiences, said: explain“Here is an experience that can completely change a person’s attitudes, values, beliefs and behavior in just a few seconds.”
“They usually make people more spiritual, more compassionate, more caring,” he added.The changes “don’t go away over time,” Grayson said.
Will this prompt Trump to acknowledge the deep divisions in America and the need to do something now to heal those divisions?
he He told the New York Post “I want to unite the country, but I don’t know if that’s possible. We are very divided,” he said Monday as he prepared to deliver a speech to the new Republican convention.
It gave us a sense of hope.
But in the same interview, he also toned down that message: “Some people want open borders, some people don’t. Some people want men to be able to play on women’s sports teams, some people don’t.”
That’s not uncommon.
Trump The leading role of America’s divisionEncouraged by America’s enemies abroad Like Vladimir PutinHis call for national unity may well be a campaign ploy.
He is running for president and politics is, as the saying goes, Addition gamesMore, not less: To win elections, candidates need to move to the center and grow their base.
Or his call for unity may simply be intended to rally everyone in his party to his side, making Sunday’s encounter with death completely non-transformative.
At this week’s convention, it is likely we will not know whether we are witnessing politics as usual or a meaningful shift and interest in unity. Either way, we can expect to see more discussion of what unites us.
But the coming weeks will see a stress test to separate the real from the fake.
Like Rome, unity is not built in a day. For someone who has championed the modern “us vs. them” mentality, a true belief in one America is not even evidenced by continued advocacy of bridge building; it is evidenced by enduring behavioral change and a genuine abandonment of division.
Some points to note are:
- Will Trump abandon his campaign promises?ProsecuteWho are his rivals?
- Would he deny what he said he wanted to be?First Day Dictator?
- Would he saybut alsoHe has nothing to do with Project 2025, but he has also been accused of tracking women’s pregnancies, undermining public education,the goalAbolish civil servants and replace them with loyalists?
- Will he retract his statement? Abolition of the Constitution Or someone like former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley. Deserves the death penalty, Or is he Reported Enemies List?
- Will he stop? Surrounding Himself With white supremacists?
- he to withdraw What about his promise to pardon violent participants in the January 6, 2021 siege of the Capitol?
- he Stop Slandering E. Jean Carroll may choose to continue the appeal rather than withdrawing the appeal. attack What impact will this have on our justice system?
- Will he show genuine remorse at his sentencing on September 18th? Convicted of 34 feloniesand apologize Verbal attacks What about Judge Juan Merchan’s family?
- he, Lost in the 2020 election?
- he Stop lying?
There are many more questions like these that could be asked, but the proof of a serious commitment to unity is in the test of time, and there are plenty of prototypes in need of remixing.
We will all be jurors for the next three months, and in November we will render a verdict. Juries function because they collectively evaluate the demeanor of witnesses, including the defendant, who will testify. They can distinguish between truth and manipulation, as can intelligent Americans and independent voters with no decisive commitment to any particular candidate or party.
Watching Trump’s actions and hearing his denials over the next few weeks will tell us what he really means about unity. Convincing us that Trump has changed will be an uphill climb, given his divisive record, which should initially lead us to question whether he has had a true conversion experience, and not just used a close call to regain power.
The answer won’t take long to become clear: human behavior tends to revert to the mean quickly unless the mean changes dramatically. We can remain vigilant while leaving room for the eternal spring of hope.
Austin Surratt is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law and Political Science at Amherst College. His views do not necessarily reflect those of Amherst College. Dennis Aftergut is a former federal prosecutor and civil litigator currently Lawyers for American Democracy.
