Donald Trump accepted the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday night, striking a softer tone after narrowly escaping an assassin’s bullet at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, five days ago.

Trump took the stage at Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum with theatrical flair, in front of a giant row of lightbulbs spelling out the word “Trump.” His address began with a more serious focus on the aftermath of the assassination, but after an hour the former president began to drift into erratic statements, and his speech stretched for more than 90 minutes.

More from Variety

“I stand before you tonight with a message of confidence, strength and hope. In four months we will have won an incredible victory and will begin the four greatest years in our country’s history,” he said. “The discord and division in our society must be overcome, and quickly. As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a common destiny. We rise together, or we fall apart. I am running for president for all of America, not half of America, because winning for half of America is not a victory.”

Trump told the crowd he would describe in detail his harrowing experiences during the shooting on Saturday.

“In some ways, I felt very safe because I had God on my side. I really felt that,” Trump said. When he told the crowd, “I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” the crowd responded, “Yes, you are.” Later, the chant changed to “We want Trump.”

Trump called surviving the shooting “a fated experience,” evoking the sense of divine intervention that many others have felt since the July 13 incident.

“I stand here before you in this arena by the grace of Almighty God,” he said. As he recounted his experiences, his remarks were interrupted by cries of “fight, fight, fight” – a reference to the word Trump shouted with a raised fist as Secret Service agents ushered him off the stage amid the chaos.

Although Trump is known for his combative campaigning, he largely refrained from hurling smears at President Biden and other Democratic opponents. He did say, however, that the nation is currently suffering from “totally incompetent leadership” and mentioned “crazy Nancy Pelosi” in an attack on the former Democratic Speaker of the House. “The damage he has done to this country is unimaginable,” he said, vowing to mention the name “Biden” only once during his speech.

“This election should be about the problems facing our country and how we can make America prosperous, safe, free and great again,” Trump said. “At a time when our politics too often divide us, now is the time to remember that we are all fellow citizens.”

As his speech passed the 30-minute mark, Trump returned to familiar territory of absurd boasts about his record and cheap jabs at his rivals. He claimed that if he had been president, he would have prevented the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. He also threw a few jabs at the mainstream media, such as insulting CBS News’ venerable Sunday show “Face the Nation” by calling it “Deface the Nation.”

“I will end every single international crisis that the current administration has caused, including the horrific war with Russia and Ukraine, which would never have happened if I were president, and the war caused by the attack on Israel, which would never have happened if I were president,” Trump said.

Still, Trump’s tone was softer than previous political speeches, vowing to be president for “all America” ​​- a nod to the bitter partisan hatred that has gripped the country.

“I am here tonight to present a vision to the entire nation. To every citizen, whether you are a young or old man or woman, Democrat, Republican or Independent, black or white, Asian or Hispanic, I extend to you the hand of loyalty and friendship,” Trump said. “Together, we will lead America to new heights of greatness the likes of which the world has never seen before.”

“With the right leadership, any disaster we’re going through now will be fixed, and very, very quickly,” Trump said. “Whether you’ve supported me in the past or not, I hope you’ll support me tonight in the future, because I’m going to bring back the American dream.”

About 60 minutes into the speech, Trump showed a line graph on giant screens that was supposed to show the increase in the number of illegal immigrants entering the United States. The same graph was also shown on giant screens at the July 13 rally. Trump’s turning of the head to look at the graph was probably due to the fact that he was spared serious or even fatal injury from the shooter, who was killed at the scene by a Secret Service sniper.

“Without this table, I wouldn’t be here today,” he said.

The best of diversity

Subscribe to Variety’s newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.