Donald Trump assassination attempt: what does it mean for the US elections?
Shots fired on former President Donald Trump was an unfortunate incident, however, it just might seal the White House deal for him.
Right after the shooting, Trump was seen raising his fist to the crowd with a bloodied face, which paints the exact picture of historic moments in the election. And such a moment has not been witnessed in a decade of political history.
The incident also raised challenges for US President Joe Biden who is already under current since his debate debacle. Experts also suggest that the incident has brought a significant shift to the political landscape and predictions of the upcoming elections.
Impact on polls after Trump’s assassination attempt
Veteran former Clinton campaign consultant, Dick Morris suggested that the assassination attempt on Trump would serve the Republicans in this period of election and would cause issues for the Democrats in the upcoming elections. While in a conversation with WABV for their podcast, he said, “Functionally, the race is over. [Trump] wins if he lives. … There’s nothing that can get into Trump’s path except a bullet.”
He analysed that the incident could garner the Republicans 10-15 more points than the Democrats from the current momentum of events at the Republic Convention in Milwaukee, as reported by the New York Post. This lead would be difficult to compete with the Biden and Democrats bickering over the former’s mental and physical health. The Democrats have suggested that the 81-year-old re-elect someone else as their face to at least have a chance of winning the election. However, Biden refused to step down from being the torchbearer of the party.
Trump’s iconic raised fist post-shoot
Referring to Trump’s raised-fist show after was shot down, Morris said, “It was just amazing … This will go down in history. It’s going to bolster him in the polling, obviously. The question is how much and what impact.” The visual of Trump is one of the most iconic moments from the rally shooting on Saturday.
According to the Telegraph, Trump based his campaign on the narrative that everyone including the Federal prosecutors, judges, election officials and rival politicians was out to get him and the incident now stands as proof of his statement. Interestingly, the former president has not mentioned this statement since the shooting. Rather he acted in statesmen-like behaviour with his words like “fear not” and American people will not allow “evil to win”.
The incident has the potential to impact Trump’s criminal case as the events of Saturday have painted Trump in a new light.