As Trump cruises toward victory, he’s changing the GOP once again

The 2024 election has changed dramatically in recent days. Why? Two reasons. The failed assassination attempt Saturday of former President Donald Trump, who is scheduled to speak Thursday night to conclude the Republican National Convention. And the GOP’s shift on policies, visible this week throughout the convention.
The GOP seems to be morphing before our eyes because of a combination of events, including President Joe Biden’s incompetence, Trump’s influence on the party and the failed assassination attempt.
The convention has been a cacophony of professionals, misfits and patriots − not unlike the GOP itself. We’ve heard from established leaders such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who’s also a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
But the real eye-catchers causing a stir are the “outsiders.” People who either used to be Democrats or who embrace a message the GOP wants to send.  
A self-described lifelong Jewish Democrat, Shabbos Kestenbaum, spoke Wednesday night at the convention. He and other Jewish students are suing their alma mater, Harvard University, for discrimination following antisemitic protests in the wake of Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel in October.
“I know very few Orthodox Jews who have voted for President Biden in 2020 and are planning to do so again in 2024,” Kestenbaum told Fox News Digital. “We will, I believe, see a tremendous amount of Jewish support towards Donald Trump in a way that we haven’t seen before.”
On Monday, rapper Amber Rose spoke to delegates inside the convention hall in Milwaukee. Her presence stirred controversy. She’s neither a politician nor a lifelong Republican. She’s a 40-year-old former model and stripper who dated Kanye West before she married and divorced rapper Wiz Khalifa.
In her convention speech, Rose said she had an “aha” moment when it came to racial issues and Trump. “Donald Trump and his supporters don’t care if you’re Black, white, gay or straight, it’s all love,” she said. “And that’s when it hit me. These are my people; this is where I belong.”
Conservative writer and activist Matt Walsh criticized the move on social media, saying that Rose’s appearance was “truly an embarrassment. Not a single voter will be mobilized by this person.”
Left must own up to divisive rhetoric:Joe Biden admits putting Donald Trump in ‘bull’s-eye’ was a mistake. It’s a little late for that.
I don’t see Rose’s appearance as a beacon of hope or as an object of derision. She’s clearly not a politician or thought leader, but her presence does signal something noteworthy: Trump is hoping to attract atypical voters to the Republican Party.
That is not a bad thing. Conservatism is attractive, even if not all Republicans are as conservative as some in the party would like. Rose may not be a small-government, lower-taxes, America-first Republican, but the fact she no longer identifies with the Democratic Party is a starting point, one that many voters who have been outside traditional GOP circles can identify with.
What did the GOP lose by having her speak? Respect? Please. We’re long past that point.
This week, the official Republican Party platform shifted its long-held conservative stances on abortion and marriage. Now, the GOP no longer calls, as a party, for a federal abortion ban and no longer defines marriage as between one man and one woman.
“Is this a sign that your father (Donald Trump) is moving to the center?” NBC News’ Savannah Guthrie asked Eric Trump.
“He’s always been there on those issues,” Eric Trump said. “That’s reflective of who my father is and what he believes in (and) my wife Lara who runs the RNC and what she believes in. … At the end of the day, this country has real holes in the roof, and you’ve got to fix those holes and you’ve got to stop worrying about the little spot on the wall in the basement.”
What are the holes in the roof that need to be fixed? For Trump, it’s bringing down inflation, sealing the border, rebuilding the economy, protecting American workers who feel left behind and cultivating a better education system.
Still, Trump did pick Ohio Sen. JD Vance, who is adamantly opposed to abortion, to run as his vice presidential nominee. So, I wouldn’t rush to judgment on the idea that the GOP has abandoned its focus on protecting life.
But the shift toward a more moderate and more commonly held view on abortion could draw in voters who agree with conservative and populist economic ideas but are hesitant about the party’s longtime conservative positions on social issues.
Vance’s populist appeal, coupled with Trump’s, sends a strong message to independent voters and even moderate Democrats: This isn’t the Republican Party of the past.
But will it work? The past several days have shown at least an emotional shift toward the Republican Party, spurred by Trump’s raised fist and shout of “Fight!” seconds after surviving a would-be assassin’s bullet.
Trump stood defiantly after shooting.America also needs to stand against violence.
As Trump prepares to end the convention with his acceptance speech Thursday night, it’s hard to see America, or the Republican Party, staying the same after the past week. Everything changed on a Saturday evening in Butler, Pennsylvania.
It’s one thing to think Trump is a fraud, a felon or a hypocrite. It’s something entirely different to see a former American president targeted for an assassination and nearly killed. Political violence has a way of clarifying things.
I won’t be so bold as to say the election is over, but there has been a seismic shift in the race. And the GOP’s new focus this week has bolstered that change.
Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox.