A year after Trump’s near-assassination, friends and allies see some signs of a changed man

WASHINGTON AP President Donald Trump was on stage at the Iowa State Fairgrounds earlier this month kicking off the country s th anniversary celebration when he heard what sounded like fireworks in the distance Did I hear what I think I heard Trump remarked as he spoke from behind a wall of thick bulletproof glass Don t worry it s only fireworks I hope Famous last words he quipped drawing laughs and cheers You invariably have to think positive he went on I didn t like that sound either The comments just days before the first anniversary of Trump s near-assassination in Butler Pennsylvania served as a stark reminder of the lingering impact of the day when a gunman opened fire at a campaign rally grazing Trump s ear and killing one of his supporters in the crowd The attack dramatically upended the campaign and launched a frenzied -day stretch that included Trump s triumphant arrival at the Republican National Convention with a bandaged ear President Joe Biden s decision to abandon his reelection bid and the elevation of Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor One year after coming millimeters from a very different outcome Trump according to friends and aides is still the same Trump But they see signs beyond being on higher alert on stage that his brush with death did change him in a few strategies He is more attentive and more grateful they say and speaks openly about how he believes he was saved by God to save the country and serve a second term making him even more dug in on achieving his far-reaching agenda I think it s constantly in the back of his mind noted Sen Lindsey Graham of South Carolina a longtime friend and ally who was in close touch with Trump after the shooting and joined him that night in New Jersey after he was treated at a Pennsylvania hospital He s still a rough and tumble guy you know He hasn t become a Zen Buddhist But I think he is I ll say this more appreciative He s more attentive to his friends he revealed pointing to Trump sending him a message on his birthday earlier this week Graham added It s just a miracle he s not dead He definitely was a man who inferred he had a second lease on life Constant reminders While numerous who survive traumatic events try to block them from memory Trump has instead surrounded himself with memorabilia commemorating one of the darkest episodes in modern political history He s decorated the White House and his golf clubs with art pieces depicting the moment after the shooting when he stood up thrust his fist dramatically in the air and chanted Fight fight fight A painting of the scene now hangs prominently in the foyer of the White House State Floor near the staircase to the president s residence Earlier this year he began displaying a bronze sculpture of the tableau in the Oval Office on a side table next to the Resolute Desk And while he explained in his speech at the Republican convention that he would only talk about what had happened once he often shares the story of how he turned his head at just the right moment to show off his all-time favorite chart in history of southern margin crossings that he credits for saving his life During a press conference in the White House briefing room last month he acknowledged lingering physical effects from the shooting I get that throbbing feeling every once in a while he reported gesturing to his ear But you know what that s OK This is a dangerous business What I do is a dangerous business Trump will spend Sunday s anniversary attending the FIFA Club World Cup soccer final in East Rutherford New Jersey Crediting divine intervention Trump s chief of staff Susie Wiles who as his then-campaign chief was with him at the rally declared in a podcast interview distributed last week that Trump walked away from the shooting believing he had been spared for a reason I would say I think he believes that he was saved I do And he would never even if he thought it before I don t think he would have admitted it And he will now she notified Pod Force One She too credited divine intervention The chart she noted was constantly the last chart in the rotation And it was consistently on the other side So to have him ask for that chart eight minutes in and to have it come on the side that is opposite caused him to look in a different direction and lift his head just a little because it was higher And that just doesn t happen because it happened It happened because I believe God requested him to live As a end she noted when Trump says things that are perfunctory every president says God bless America well it s more profound with him now and it s more personal She also credited the attack with helping change community perceptions of Trump during the campaign For the American community to see a person who was such a fighter as he was that day I think as awful and tragic as it might have been it turned out to be something that demonstrated people his character And that s helpful she commented You know I have an obligation to do a good job I feel because I was really saved Trump notified Fox News Friday I owe a lot And I think I hope the reason I was saved was to save our country Roger Stone a longtime friend and informal adviser noted that Trump has had other brushes with death including a last-minute decision not to board a helicopter to Atlantic City that crashed in and another near-assassination two months after Butler when U S Secret Provision agents spotted a man pointing a rifle through the fence near where Trump was golfing Stone declared he s detected the president to be more serene and more determined after the attempt on his life in Butler He explained me directly that he thought he was spared by God for the purpose of restoring the nation to greatness and that he believes deeply that he is protected now by the Lord he noted Ralph Reed chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition agreed I think for people who know the president it is commonly held that it changed him I mean how could it not Imagine if you were who he was and if you don t turn your head at that instant he noted He knew he was lucky to be alive Given how close Trump came to a very different outcome Reed announced it s hard not to feel on various level that the hand of providence protected him for specific greater purpose And there are people that I ve talked to who mentioned they were confident that he would win for that reason That there must have been a reason