Political tinderbox Fears of deepening violence in a US awash with guns

It will be the new must-have for every Donald Trump acolyte. The indelible image of the former US president, ear bloodied and fist raised as Secret Service agents try to rush him away from a would-be assassin's bullets, has already been turned into a $35 T-shirt with a simple legend: "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

- David Smith

The words are taken from Trump's entreaty as he was bundled off stage in the aftermath of the shooting, which left one man dead at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. His supporters responded with chants of "USA! USA!" and by angrily turning on the media.

In an instant the 2024 presidential election, just 115 days away, and the future of the US itself had been transformed.

A polarised nation faces the threat of deepening political violence and hostility towards the press. In a country awash with guns, some feared that Saturday could mark the first shots in a second US civil war.

Trump, who said on social media he felt the bullet "ripping through" his skin, was hailed by his base as a fighter, martyr and messiah. The viral photograph of his defiance is being used to project the 78-year-old as a tower of strength in contrast to Biden, 81, whose weak debate performance led to calls from his own party to exit the race for the White House.

The political benefits were immediate. The billionaires Elon Musk and Bill Ackman threw their weight behind Trump, while Jake Paul, a YouTube personality, tweeted: "If it isn't apparent enough who God wants to win.

When you try and kill God's angels and saviors of the world it just makes them bigger." Trump's campaign also took the opportunity to fuel the persecution narrative, sending out a fundraising message that said: "They're not after me, they're after you."

Brad Bannon, a Democratic strategist, told the Reuters news agency: "The attempted assassination creates sympathy for Trump. It also confirms the idea to voters that something is fundamentally wrong in this nation, which is an idea that drives support for him."