WASHINGTON – Donald Trump is poised to capitalise on the second attempt on his life in recent months, using the shocking development to try to snatch back the political momentum that Vice-President Kamala Harris has enjoyed.
By portraying Trump as a fighter and survivor, his campaign hopes to capture Americans’ fractured attention and lay the blame for yet another assassination attempt on Ms Harris and Democrats.
Trump told Fox News in an interview on Sept 16 that Ms Harris’ “highly inflammatory” rhetoric inspired the gunman, a claim for which he did not provide any evidence.
The FBI has not yet provided details on the would-be shooter’s motive.
The timing of the foiled assassination attempt on Sept 15, while the former president was on the golf course at his West Palm Beach club, came at a key moment of weakness for the Trump campaign.
Allies had been attempting to tamp down post-debate narratives about Ms Harris’ strong showing, controversy over Trump’s unfounded comments about immigrants eating pets and a new feud with pop star Taylor Swift.
Instead, the Republican presidential nominee can campaign this week as a figure unscathed by what he casts as evil forces looking to take him down.
Trump will continue his campaign schedule this week – just 50 days out from Election Day – as planned, according to two people familiar with his itinerary.
This week’s schedule will put him in close proximity of voters and allies, an arrangement known to boost Trump’s mood.
He plans to launch a crypto platform on Sept 16, followed by rallies in Michigan and New York on Sept 17 and Sept 18, a speech to a pro-Israeli group in Washington and then a rally in North Carolina on Sept 21 to cap off the week.
Ms Harris is also planning a series of events in swing states this week.
Polls show Trump and Ms Harris virtually tied and within the margin-of-error in major battleground states.
Despite pundits and polls largely showing Ms Harris won last week’s presidential debate, the forum did not greatly alter the dynamics of the race and the two candidates are still vying for support from a tiny sliver of the electorate that remains undecided.
Ensconced at his private club Mar-a-Lago on Sept 16, Trump met with Mr Ronald Rowe, the acting director of the Secret Service, in the afternoon.
Mr Rowe is the replacement for Ms Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned after the first assassination attempt on Trump’s life in July.
Just two months ago, a bullet grazed Trump’s ear at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, two days before the Republican National Convention. Following that shooting, Trump called for unity across the country.
However, that was short-lived as Trump’s RNC acceptance speech struck similar themes to his rally speeches.
“The damage that he’s done to this country is unthinkable,” Trump said of US President Joe Biden, his then opponent, in the convention address.
Trump is already using the latest attempt on his life as a way to cudgel his Democratic opponent.
“Because of this Communist Left Rhetoric, the bullets are flying, and it will only get worse!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Ms Harris and Mr Biden have condemned political violence after both attacks.
“There’s no place for political violence,” Mr Biden said on Sept 16. “In America, we resolve our differences at the ballot box, not at the end of a gun.”
He went on to commend the Secret Service, before adding that they were assessing whether adjustments needed to be made to the former president’s security detail.
The second assassination attempt has provided the Trump campaign an opportunity to fuel fundraising, which slowed as Ms Harris gained in the polls.
The Trump campaign sent out several messages to donors in the immediate aftermath, while supporters expressed a sense of outrage.
“The President is more determined than ever to win,” said Mr Ed McMullen, who served as Trump’s ambassador to Switzerland. “His supporters are furious and determined to win because the narrative the Democrats – extremists – have used for the past near decade has caused the unhinged left to react with violence.”
Trump, the first former US president convicted of a felony, has drawn criticism for his own language during the campaign, including attacks questioning
Trump’s legal woes include a case involving his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, which culminated in supporters rioting at the US Capitol on Jan 6, 2021.
Trump tries to regain spotlight after assassination attempt
