Trump assassination attempt: It didn't kill him, but will it make him stronger?

New Delhi, India

Donald Trump survived an apparent assassination bid on Saturday (Jul 13) as the Republican presumptive nominee for the US presidential election was addressing a rally in Pennsylvania. What does it mean for the former president's prospects in the November presidential election?

"What does not kill me, makes me stronger," wrote 19th-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche in Twilight of the Idols.

Will Trump emerge stronger from the bid on his life by a rooftop shooter whose bullets managed to graze his ear, leaving him with a trail of blood on his face?

Did the shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, make Trump invincible?

Trump was already ahead in many of the polls, but the main focus this pre-election season was on his Democratic rival and current president Joe Biden's fitness to run again for the White House. 

Also read: Trump shooter was registered as Republican but donated to Dems too

After a multitude of gaffes which continued till last week - he reportedly called Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky as Vladimir Putin, the Russian president who invaded Ukraine - many in his Democratic party and donors asked him to exit the race.

The real election season will kick off with the party conventions of Republicans on 15-18 July and Democrats on 19-22 August. There was no doubt that Trump would be endorsed at the GOP convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but for Democrats, it's a different story before going to the event to be held in Chicago, Illinois. 

Even after he wrote a stern letter to Democrats saying the 'drama should end' by asking him to step aside, uncertainty is growing about the viability of Biden's candidacy. Now, the assassination bid on Trump, just two days ahead of the Republican National Convention, will only add to Biden's woes.

Also read: VIDEO: Footage shows alleged Donald Trump shooter lying dead on roof

For one, any doubters or fence-sitters in the Republican party and many 'neutral' or 'independent' voters might have a change of heart with regard to Trump. 

Those who had misgivings about him in the wake of multiple court cases might now support him.

These cases, now it might look, were attempts to prevent him from running for president. 

Before he became the presumptive nominee, there was a sense that the only way to defeat Trump was not to allow him to contest. 

Making him legally ineligible, through criminal convictions in any one of the cases, was one possibility. The hush money case, where he is alleged to have paid off porn actor Stormy Daniels to stay silent on a sexual liaison, was the one that got him a criminal conviction. There are other ongoing cases related to the Capitol Hill riots of 6th January 2021, election interference cases arising from Trump's refusal to accept the verdict of November 2020 that made Biden the president, as well as those related to his financial dealings and tax dodges. 

WATCH | Trump rally shooting: Former President shot at Pennsylvania rally

Most of the cases are now safely away from conclusion any time before the election, which will happen on  November 5 this year. Note that several of the judges who made rulings to delay the trials, including some in the Supreme Court, were appointed by Trump himself during his presidency.

Add to this the national outrage and sympathy generated by the failed attempt by 20-year-old Thomas Mathew Crooks, and Trump will emerge stronger.

He had already gone back to the campaign trail much stronger after the presidential debate performance (so far the only one), which had led to turmoil for Biden who came out damaged by his own incoherent delivery on 27 June.

The clamour to remove Biden as candidate soon followed and polls were suggesting that Vice President Kamala Harris, 59, was a better choice than the 81-year-old incumbent.

Also read: Trump shooter Crooks was registered as Republican but donated to Dems too

The last major poll, published just a day before the Trump assassination attempt, found that two in three Americans felt Biden should step aside. At the same time, the poll, done by ABC News, Washington Post and Ipsos, said that most respondents felt both Biden and Trump, who is 78,  are too old. Their race was tied, as per the poll, which also gave an edge to Harris in case she is fielded against Trump. But with the attempt on his life, any replacement for Biden also looks improbable. 

It is also important that the shooting happened in Pennsylvania. With 19 electoral votes, which is one of the highest when compared to its population, the Rust Belt state holds key importance in every election season. It has often been right in predicting who will be the president, meaning, whoever wins Pennsylvania wins the presidency, most of the time. It is a swing state, as it did not vote specifically for either Democrats or Republicans on a regular basis.

The mood of the Republican party as well as the hardline Trump supporters are set now. People have come out in open endorsement of the Republican, including Elon Musk, the chief of X, one of the most important online public squares. Notably, Meta had recently removed restrictions on Trump on its social media platforms Facebook and Instagram.

Trump's defiant fist-pumping and shouting "USA-USA" after being aided up from the ground is going to be the most iconic image of this election season. The Republican political machinery will milk the footage for every vote. 

Those eight or nine pumps from Crookes' automatic rifle have put paid to the election results, unless something more dramatic happens before November 5. 

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)