‘By the grace of Almighty God’: Could this be Trump’s 1981 Reagan moment?

“Getting shot hurts,” wrote President Ronald Reagan in his White House diary entry for March 31, 1981, a day after an assassin’s bullet pierced his flesh, breaking a rib and puncturing the lung where it became lodged.

As the president lay in the emergency room, drawing breaths but “getting less and less air,” he had a spiritual awakening of sorts, and he made a vow to serve God from that day forward.

“Whatever happens now I owe my life to God and will try to serve him in every way I can,” Reagan finishes his journal entry.

Thursday night, former President Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination for president “with faith and devotion,” in his first public speech since being shot at a campaign rally on Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania. 

Might Trump, like Reagan, now live with a renewed commitment to serve God? American Christians should certainly pray so. 

“I will tell you exactly what happened, and you’ll never hear it from me a second time, because it’s actually too painful to tell,” Trump said on the final night of the Republican National Convention, as he began to detail the moment he prepared to discuss an immigration chart at Saturday’s rally. 

“In order to see the chart, I started to, like this, turn to my right, and was ready to begin a little bit further turn, which I’m very lucky I didn’t do, when I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me really, really hard. On my right ear. I said to myself, ‘Wow, what was that? It can only be a bullet.’” 

Trump says he knew “we were under attack,” and yet felt a sense of divine protection right away. 

“There was blood pouring everywhere, and yet in a certain way I felt very safe because I had God on my side. I felt that,” he said, before discussing the bravery of the Secret Service agents who pounced on him and the thousands in the crowd that remained frozen with wonder about his fate. 

“But I could see [the crowd’s concern] and I wanted to do something to let them know I was OK,” Trump continued. “I raised my right arm, looked at the thousands and thousands of people that were breathlessly waiting and started shouting, ‘Fight, fight, fight.’” 

“I’m not supposed to be here tonight. I’m not supposed to be here,” Trump told the tens of thousands in the convention audience. 

“Yes you are,” the crowd chanted back almost immediately. 

“Thank you, but I’m not,” Trump declared confidently. “And I’ll tell you, I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of Almighty God. And watching the reports over the last few days, many people say it was a providential moment. It probably was.” 

Both Reagan and Trump, after nearly being assassinated, declared their indebtedness to God for preserving their lives, and vowed to live in the future with a renewed sense of purpose. 

Reagan was able to forgive the would-be assassin, and even “pray for his soul and that he would find his way back to the fold,” before promising to serve God “in every way I can.” 

In the conclusion of his speech, Trump had a similar message: 

“So, to conclude, just a few short days ago, my journey with you nearly ended. … We live in a world of miracles. None of us knows God’s plan, or where life’s adventure will take us. …  

“But if the events of last Saturday make anything clear, it is that every single moment we have on Earth is a gift from God. We have to make the most of every day for the people and for the country that we love.” 

Presidents and presidential candidates often speak about God, but few of them have had the chance to do so after being shot.  

Let’s hope – and pray – that Trump will continue to acknowledge God’s sovereign leadership and, like Reagan, endeavor to serve the Almighty from this day forward.