Trump campaign edits GOP convention speeches to tone down political rhetoric

MILWAUKEE — Former President Donald Trump's campaign has offered suggestions and directly edited the final speeches of convention speakers in an effort to tone down the political rhetoric in the wake of Saturday's shooting and focus on policy contrasts with President Joe Biden, NBC News has learned from four sources engaged with speech preparation for the convention.

Trump said that he had rewritten his own speech accepting the Republican presidential nomination ahead of Thursday night after surviving an assassination attempt. The Trump campaign has said that now he intends to home in on the theme of unifying America.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., said Wednesday before delivering his convention address, "Frankly, they sent the same message to those of us giving speeches."

“We always planned to be a reflection of our party’s unity and remind the American people of the the difference between President Trump’s success and Crooked Joe Biden’s failure," Brian Hughes, a senior Trump campaign adviser, said in a statement. "The convention messages from everyday Americans and policymakers have met that goal. This convention is one of the greatest ever held and will launch us forward to victory in November.”

While convention speakers this week have served up plenty of red meat to the thousands of delegates in attendance, particularly on the issues of immigration and crime, they have steered away from some of the party’s more divisive topics and talk of seeking retribution.

Through the convention’s first two nights, speakers have not mentioned the following issues: unfounded claims of stolen elections; the Jan 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol; investigating Trump’s political opponents, including Biden; and