Political tinderbox

Donald Trump says he wants to focus on unifying the country after surviving an assassination attempt but the US remains awash with guns and his base is fuelled by political grievances

- David Smith

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!" 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, last Saturday. His supporters responded with chants of "USA! USA!" and by angrily turning on the media.

In an instant the 2024 presidential election, at that point just 115 days away, and the future of America 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 13 July could mark the first shots in a second US civil war.

Trump, ever the showman, 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.