Donald Trump was entitled to bear the look of a man who had been through an experience of extreme trauma – he did and he had.
It wasn’t just the bandage over his right ear – he appeared emotional as he acknowledged the acclaim of a convention crowd.
It was a day he wasn’t meant to see – Trump himself said he was “supposed to be dead” after the assassination attempt on him – but he wasn’t going to miss.
He didn’t address the convention on day one – that’s scheduled for Thursday when he’s due to deliver a set-piece speech.
Without a speaking part, and with his recent history, this was a softened and subdued Donald Trump, unlike the political pugilist who typically holds court on these occasions.
Trump felt the love and more from the faithful inside the venue. He carries a cachet he didn’t have before he took a bullet.
The question is how the emotional response of people generally, shocked and distressed by the spectacle, translates into support beyond Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum. Chances are it won’t lose him votes.
News happens fast around the “Teflon Don”. On the work trip in Wisconsin, he received a bulletin from home that a Florida judge had dismissed the criminal case around classified material.
Donald Trump and vice presidential candidate JD Vance at the Republican National Convention. Pic: AP
The indictment reflected a recklessness, at least, around national security. Laid out in a court case, it would damage any candidate running for the White House.
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It’s a boost for Trump, unquestionably, and it’s not the only one in the past few weeks.
There was the TV debate with Joe Biden, the Supreme Court ruling on immunity and a delayed sentencing in New York.
And now Elon Musk has pledged to support Trump’s campaign to the tune of $45m (£35m) a month.
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A look at the last month has the look of a man who can’t lose.
The four months between now and a November election will matter most.