Trump was a changed man in convention speech. Then he went off-script

Donald Trump had a plan for this singular political moment: deliver a speech so out of character that if a time-traveler from a week ago somehow managed to witness it that person might have wondered, "Who hypnotized Trump?"

A brush with death a few days earlier inspired a truly novel convention speech as un-Trump-like as if delivered by a twin separated at birth.

The prepared text was devoid of insults, filled with gratitude. No digs at "Sleepy Joe" or "Laughin' Kamala," no insults — in fact, no mentioning his election opponents at all. 

At least that was the plan. Hours before the address, Trump's co-campaign manager had previewed a forward-focused speech, but, alluding to his candidate's penchant for improvisation, Chris LaCivita said: "It's still early in the day." 

Old habits, it turns out, are as imperishable as the man himself.

The familiar Trump resurfaced when he deviated from the prepared script twice to accuse Democrats of stealing elections. 

He took digs at Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker, by name, then President Joe Biden, then corrected himself and referred to "that person," and returned briefly to the script.

The audience could follow along with which parts were planned, and which were improvised: a large screen in back of the arena scrolled down the prepared text — gracious, unifying — and it would periodically stop as Trump freestyled.

Those prepared remarks were to be an hour of peace and love for fellow Americans — and talk of mass-deportation for foreign migrants, as per his platform. New tone, old Trump policies. It wound up lasting an hour and a half.

With Trump still on script, the speech began with him describing how a bullet whizzed a semi-centimetre from his skull on Saturday, sending him crashing to the ground and re-emerging with blood on his face and hands. 

"I am not supposed to be here tonight," Trump told the Milwaukee crowd. "I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty God."

He later spoke of every moment on Earth being a gift from God.

Trump talked of unifying the country. Rather than simply rally his base, he promised to govern even for those Americans who oppose him.

"I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America. Because there is no victory in winning for half of America," Trump said.