Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Donald Trump wasn't scheduled to attend the Republican National Convention until Thursday.

But it wasn't the shock factor that impressed delegates and attendees at his surprise appearance on Monday, but his very presence, the way he walked, the bandage around his ear, his fist raised in the air and his decision to attend the convention just days after nearly losing his life in an assassination attempt.

For days, social media was abuzz with simulations, photos and diagrams of how close Trump came to death. “It was nothing but divine providence,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial, telling The Daily Caller that he'd discussed the topic with aides in recent days, who described the former president's face and voice as showing new strength and resolve to face the moment.

“By the end of the year [Monday] “At night, I was able to climb up to the rope line, and as he came down the stairs and walked through, he saw me. He came over to me, stuck his hand out through Secret Service, we shook hands, and he looked me right in the eye. He said, 'You've had a rough day today, haven't you?' and I said, 'Yeah, it's been rough,'” Blake Marnell, a California delegate who is often seen at Trump rallies in his brick-colored suits, told the Caller. “The truth is, he's an incredible guy and we're lucky to have him.”

Donald Trump Jr. told the caller that he had to wait nearly an hour and a half to hear that his father was safe. He told the caller that he and his father joked when he spoke to them on the phone shortly after his father's survival.

“I just said, the most important thing is, how's your hair? [He said] “I'm OK. There's a little bit of blood. That was probably the moment we all needed, because my kids and my family were listening to it on speakerphone. It was hard. Trying to explain to a 10-year-old that their grandfather got shot in the face. I don't want to have that conversation,” he said.

Donald Trump Jr. slammed an MSNBC pundit who questioned whether former President Trump was wearing the bandage out of “sympathy.”

“For them, Trump hasn't been enough of a shot in the face. They can't do anything about it. Trump Derangement Syndrome is real. It's so stupid for them to say such things.” pic.twitter.com/WOFtqVXBTr

— American Conservative (@amconmag) July 17, 2024

After the shooting, which left one person dead and two seriously injured, Trump wrote that it must have been an act of God that his life was spared.

Six minutes into a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, gunshots rang out from the far side of the crowd. Trump clutched his neck and crouched behind the podium. Minutes later, the former president emerged from a throng of Secret Service agents, face bleeding, fist raised, telling his supporters to “fight.”

The suspect, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks from a nearby area, took up position on a rooftop about 150 yards away before firing shots at Trump in what was later determined to be an assassination attempt. (RELATED: Secret Service told senators shooter “identified” about 50 minutes before Trump took the stage at the rally, sources say)

In the aftermath of the assassination attempt, Trump decided to completely rewrite his speech just days before it was due to be delivered at the Republican National Convention. according to Trump told the Washington Examiner that he had shifted his focus from a “terrible” speech attacking the Biden administration to one that focused on unity and using his near-death experience to bring the country together.

“I haven't spoken to the president directly, but I've spoken to my colleagues and we've actually had long discussions. [Rep.] “Ronny Jackson spent the day with President Trump the day after the shooting, and he said he's a completely different person than he was before,” Rep. Claudia Tenney, a Republican from New York, told the Caller. “I think he understands and knows that it was an act of God, that God saved him — just the fact that he turned his head.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, who watched the rally on television with his wife, recalled President George Washington dodging gunfire while riding horseback across fire-torn battlefields during the French and Indian War.

“Coincidentally, historically, President George Washington, who was bulletproof… there's a famous story from the French and Indian War in 1755 when he was riding on his horse on the plains and people were shooting at him, so he got off his horse,” Johnson told the Caller. “He had four bullet holes in his coat, but none of them hit him. He was just a young Army colonel at the time, and he wrote this down and said, 'I'm sure the spirit of divine providence is causing something to happen in the future.'”

Johnson explained that the incident in Washington took place less than 50 miles from the location of Trump's rally on Saturday, and only a few days away.

“I sent this to Mr. Trump and thought, it could be a coincidence, but I don't think it's. I think it's divine providence and we recognize it as such, and I think President Trump thinks so too,” he told the Caller, adding that Mr. Trump agreed with him that God saved his life.

Just before arriving in Milwaukee, Trump acknowledged he had considered skipping the first few days of the convention in the aftermath of the assassination attempt, but Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley knew that wouldn't happen, he told a faith and freedom breakfast on Thursday morning. The former president was scheduled to attend on Thursday, but called Chairman Whatley on Saturday to say just a few words.

“I'll be there tomorrow,” Trump reportedly told Whatley.

On Monday, Trump, with his ear bandaged, entered Fiserv Stadium and became visibly emotional as “God Bless the USA” played.

“I was just shocked when I saw him come out on the floor of the convention. He was more emotional than I'd ever seen him and it moved me, because 15 to 30 minutes after the assassination attempt, I got the news that he was OK, all things considered. And I started thinking, Oh, thank God for him and for the country. God knows what would have happened to this country if the assassination had been successful,” Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, told the Caller.

“But then when you take the next steps, like selecting a vice president and policies, you see him coming in. He's a strong guy and we love that about him, you know? But when you see that very strong man, it makes you feel even stronger because of the gravity of what's happened,” he added.

It was an admission that shocked many, especially those close to the president, who noticed a different perspective emerging on Trump's face.

“He came in and sat down, and I was with him a lot when he was president, and he always had a really upbeat look on his face, no matter where he was or what he was doing. I was struck by how he looked a little thoughtful while still being that brave guy with his fist up, and I think maybe like any other human being, he had a slightly different perspective on what was going on,” Thomas Hodgson, Trump's Massachusetts campaign chairman, told the Caller.

Johnson told the Caller that this sentiment may be due in part to the pressure Trump is feeling at this moment in the presidential campaign.

“We've had frank discussions about it, and he feels the pressure and the responsibility that comes with it. He believes he was spared for a reason, and as he's said in recent days, it's to unify the country and lead it again. And it's a very solemn and exciting prospect,” Johnson told the Caller. “And I think you can see that in his expression.”