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Trump tries to regain spotlight after assassination attempt
The Straits Times
|September 18, 2024
Republican presidential candidate 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 VicePresident Kamala Harris has enjoyed.
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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 Federal Bureau of Investigation 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, Trump can campaign this week as a figure unscathed by what he casts as evil forces looking to take him down.
He will continue his campaign schedule this week 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 launched a cryptocurrency platform on Sept 16 and was set to hold rallies in Michigan and New York on Sept 17 and 18, before giving a speech to a pro-Israel group in Washington. Trump will cap off the week with a rally in North Carolina on Sept 21.
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.
This story is from the September 18, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
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