Assassination attempt on Trump could ‘reset’ US election - expert

The attempted assassination of Donald Trump has jolted the presidential race in the United States, and could mark a shift in political loyalties.

Trump was whisked away to safety after a 20-year-old shot at him during an election rally in Pennsylvania.

Thomas Mathew Crooks, who was the man FBI identified as the shooter, was shot dead at the scene.

US President Joe Biden has ordered a “swift and thorough” investigation of the event, where a rally goer was also killed and two others critically injured.

“There is no place in America for this kind of violence, or any violence for that matter. An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation.

“It's not who we are as a nation. It's not America, and we cannot allow this to happen.

“We'll debate and we'll disagree, that's not going to change, but we're going to not lose sight, in fact, of who we are as Americans.”

International relations expert Geoffrey MIller says Biden's message of unity is likely to hike up his popularity at the polls.

“He can misspeak and say the wrong name at the wrong time, but look, he's the grandfather we all need right now and bringing this uniting message of working together, unity, perhaps that's actually what we need right now after this national tragedy here and this national moment of an assassination attempt, perhaps Joe Biden is actually the man of the hour.

“I think at the very least it will reset his campaign. It's not gonna solve all his problems because Donald Trump and all that will go up in the polls, but it might secure his nomination as a Democratic nominee.”

Speaking to William Terite on Pacific Mornings, Miller said this event is likely to improve Trump’s poll rankings, but many voters will interpret the event to cement their own political view.

“We are in this sort of post-truth era and the facts in some ways won't really matter because both sides will read into it what they want to and no doubt there are already the conspiracy theories emerging on all of this and what exactly transpired yesterday.”

Red or blue

The majority of America’s states have an entrenched history of voting red or blue, said Miller, and the campaigning really comes down to the few states that can be swayed.

“The US election really comes down to a handful of states, no more than 10 or 12 states, because most states are locked in - they're solidly Republican or they're solidly Democrat, and then there's just a handful in the middle that are toss-ups, in a sense.

“This rally was held in Pennsylvania, one of the swing states. There's no accident there, you tend to hold your rallies in the swing states, and that will have a huge impact on voters there and voters throughout the United States.”

Miller said the photos of Trump after the shooting will become a poignant reminder for many of what happened.

“The image of Donald Trump with blood on his face, fist pumping in the air below the American flag. That's an iconic image, will no doubt be the image of the year for many.”

A history of political violence

Political violence has a long history, including the stabbing of Julius Caesar in Ancient Roman times. Miller said New Zealand is no exception, with the terror attacks on March 15, 2019.

“All around the world, this is, sadly, a global phenomenon, political violence, and we need to speak up against it.

“We should be competing with our ideas, not with bullets. And I think it's heartening in some ways to see both Joe Biden and Donald Trump condemning this and standing up and saying we need to be united.

“Unfortunately, I think these words will probably fall on deaf ears, but I think it's good to see them.”

The US presidential election will be held on Tuesday the 5th of November, 2024.