The shooting, and Donald Trump’s immediate reaction to it, will undoubtedly have an impact on the election, but nearly 40 years after the shooting of Ronald Reagan led to his reelection, will it help or hurt the former president?
Acting courageously, defiantly or recklessly in front of the camera, even in situations where the stakes are extremely high.
However you look at it, the image is Donald Trump His refusal to leave the stage before showing his supporters his clenched fist will help define his reelection campaign.
It’s a wonderful sight. The former president Just got shotIn his ear, Secret Service guards beg him to move.
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“Let me put your shoes on,” he repeats. “I need to get you to your car,” is the usual refrain.
“Let me put my shoes on,” the former president said, just before rushing off the stage.
His agents were trained to put their bodies between suspects and further bullets, and that is exactly what they did.
But Donald Trump had no intention of moving with them to a safe location: “Wait, wait, wait, wait,” he repeatedly insisted.
Only when he realized the camera was clearly showing him and his defiant attitude did he excuse himself to hurry away.
He is already being compared to Ronald Reagan, the last president to survive a shooting in 1981.
“Hey, I forgot to duck,” he joked to his wife, Nancy, before emergency surgery. “Tell them you’re all Republicans.” Reagan was later re-elected.
Will this moment and Trump’s response leave him in the same high regard in the eyes of voters? And, of course, we’re asking: Will it help or hinder Trump’s efforts to become president again?
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American politics is full of combativeness, and Donald Trump’s supporters would say he has shown true courage.
In America, we say it’s not what gets you knocked down, but how you get back up that counts.
He found the courage to stand his ground and show bravery, his admirers will argue, and compare it all to a disadvantage against his rivals.
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Meanwhile, critics may accuse him of endangering the guards’ precious seconds by seizing the photo opportunity in the middle of all the danger.
But the key question is how this will impact undecided voters whose support he needs to secure. Reclaiming the White House.
Will they be reassured by his apparent resilience, or will they see last night’s attack as a harbinger of things to come in America?
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Trump’s second term was already marked by growing fears of violence and conflict.
Will swing voters be moved by Trump’s clenched fist, or will they see it as a sign of the divisive, polarizing presidency that is sure to stomp the current storm?
Many predictions have already been made, but realistically it is still too early to tell.
This extraordinary moment could unfold in many ways, and despite the drama surrounding these events, we must also remember that political violence in America is as old as its democracy.
Just as important is what this means for Trump the candidate, Trump the campaigner and Trump the person.
As biographers of surviving assassination attempts, from Ronald Reagan to Margaret Thatcher, tell it, assassination attempts leave their mark.
The Donald Trump of 2024 is a much more disciplined man than the campaigner of eight years ago.
This reassured voters and avoided the turmoil that occurred during his first election campaign and subsequent term.
Will this assassination attempt upset his relative composure? What will be the emotional and psychological impact? That may also help determine the political outcome of the incident.
