The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday marks an appalling, alarming new low in the febrile and divisive atmosphere of American politics.
By some measures, had it not been for a slight tilt of his head to the right – a jerky movement that Trump often makes when he’s speaking – the 45th president of the United States might well have been shot dead.
But it’s how Trump, 78, recovered within seconds of the shots being fired, including one that grazed his right ear and left blood splatted across his face, that may well define this election campaign – and perhaps his legacy.
Having dropped to the ground behind the lectern he was speaking from, as screaming erupted and panicked Secret Service agents surrounded him, Trump had the presence of mind to seize the moment.
While clearly stunned and confused – he can be heard telling his close protection crew “Let me get my shoes” as they try to bundle him off stage – Trump also then told them “Wait, wait, wait” before standing, turning towards the crowd and raising a fist.
With defiance etched on his face, and a streak of blood across his cheek, Trump shouted purposefully to the audience “Fight! Fight! Fight!”. All his TV appearances could hardly have been better scripted. Photos of the moment capture a defiant, determined man against a clear blue sky, the Stars and Stripes in the background, as scrambling Secret Service agents try to usher him away.
In an election campaign with nearly four more months to run and barely any policy issues being discussed, it is that image of a quick-witted and surprisingly agile Trump that may well define the contest.
While Democrats fret publicly that 81-year-old Joe Biden is too old, too fragile and perhaps too mentally in decline to lead a successful re-election campaign, the Republican base will draw grit and inspiration from Trump’s literal dodging of the would-be assassin’s bullet.
The outcome of recent U.S. presidential elections has mostly come down to votes in a handful of swing states, including Pennsylvania, where Trump was speaking. The attempted killing and its aftermath may not do much to change the minds of swing voters. But it may have an impact in driving turnout among the Republican base, while on the other side of the ticket, frustrated Democrats already uninspired by Biden’s faltering performances may just decide to sit the election out.
President Biden has reportedly dismissed suggestions from influential Democrats to call it quits and hand the campaign reins to Vice President Kamala Harris or another potential nominee to challenge Trump.
After the events of Saturday, it would appear even more difficult for Biden to stand down and let another candidate fight the election.
Instead, the battle lines for the Nov. 5th vote appear set – between an octogenarian Biden, who last week accidentally called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “President Putin”, and an invigorated Trump, on paper only three years younger, but looking sharp and whip-quick by comparison with Biden’s “sleepy Joe” demeanour.