OPINION:
“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
MILWAUKEE — With those words, brave men of comfort, good standing and great fortunes signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
They may as well have signed their names in their own blood considering the audacity of their unlikely sprint for freedom.
For generations, they had been loyal subjects of the king. The future we now take for granted was not remotely guaranteed back then.
These were fearless men guided by an undeniable vision, hewing only to the protection of divine providence.
Fearless. Vision. Providence. Men of history.
From the very start of this wild experiment in Human nature, America has been wrought by fearless men riding for a vision with faith only in the invisible providence of the divine.
Those men who risked everything to sign that Declaration would be mystified by much of today’s modern world.
But they would recognize Donald J. Trump.
Had Mr. Trump, with his jazzy pointed signature, been alive in 1776, he would have been among those men who signed that document and gambled everything for freedom.
Yet, he lives today — in an era when parchment paper has been blotted out by photographic images, television, the internet and social media.
In these times, Mr. Trump has already pledged his sacred honor and his fortune over and over again. And, on Saturday, he pledged also his life.
Honestly, what more must Mr. Trump offer as a sacrifice for his country?
They have vilified him and his entire family. They have tried to bankrupt him. Destroy his companies. They have poisoned every branch of justice in a crusade to jail him before Election Day.
And now, Mr. Trump has survived an assassin’s bullet at a political rally, during which one of his faithful supporters was killed for participating in the American political process — the very process those brave men with vision offered their lives, fortunes and sacred honor for, 248 years ago this month.
What is most confusing about the concerted effort by Democrats and the political media to Hitlerize Mr. Trump is how wildly distorted their caricature of the actual man is.
In truth, Mr. Trump is a warm, gracious, funny, cordial and thoughtful man who deeply loves the people around him. He is a powerful listener. His energy is legendary.
He is all those things, but he is also fearless and a fierce fighter — a man who will not back down when he is right. A man who will never surrender.
There are two epic images from the attempted assassination of Donald Trump that will live forever.
The first is of him on the ground, eyes open, blood streaking down his face, holding himself up just inches off the platform floor under the weight of seven Secret Service agents piled on his back. He is clutching his bloodied, red Make America Great Again hat.
The next image shows him back on his feet, blood soaking through the hair on the side of his head, fist raised in the air with a defiant look on his face and an American flag blowing strong behind him.
Even in that moment when he must have wondered if he was mortally wounded, Mr. Trump thought first of his country and his fellow countrymen. Surely, he thought also of his family — his wife and his children.
He ordered the agents who had smothered him to pause a minute so he could perform his most important, selfless duty. He had to reassure the country.
Fight. Fight. Fight.
It is the stuff of mythic legend. Hollywood has not produced more powerful, operatic cinematography. They never will.
Which, by the way, is why they hate him so much.
Sunday morning, former first lady Melania Trump issued a statement displaying her own fierce and selfless grace.
“I am thinking of you, now, my fellow Americans,” she began.
Mrs. Trump thanked the agents who risked their lives to save her husband and grieved over the supporters who were injured, including the man who was killed. Most poignantly, she just wanted to let the world know that her husband is a real human, with a human family.
“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,” she wrote.
“The core facets of my husband’s life — the human side — were buried below the political machine,” she said. “Donald, the generous and caring man who I have been with through the best of times and the worst of times.”
On Thursday, Mr. Trump will accept his party’s nomination for president at the Republican convention here. His vision is to make America great again.
Already, he has pledged his life, fortune and sacred honor. And now it appears that he is on the side of divine providence.
• Charles Hurt is the opinion editor at The Washington Times.
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