One of the most dramatic and chaotic presidential campaigns in modern US political history was dealt another shocking development, when members of the Secret Service engaged what law enforcement described as a rifle-wielding potential assassin near former President Donald Trump on Sunday.
The full political impact of the incident — which came just two months after Trump was wounded by gunfire at a Pennsylvania rally — will come into focus as additional details are made public.
But the eruption of gunfire at the Palm Beach course while Trump was playing golf could once again reset a presidential race being fought on a razor’s edge — and help Trump turn the page from a bungled debate against Vice President Kamala Harris that had given the Democratic nominee the momentum.
In the immediate aftermath, Trump emailed supporters to declare he was “safe and well”.
“Nothing will slow me down,” Trump said. “I will NEVER SURRENDER!”
The incident seemed certain to quickly pivot national attention away from Tuesday’s debate performance. Trump and his surrogates had spent recent days mired in controversy after the former president, without evidence, promulgated a conspiracy theory during the highly-rated contest that immigrants in an Ohio town were eating cats and dogs.
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And before hitting the golf course, Trump took to social media to declare flatly that he hated pop star Taylor Swift after the singer announced her endorsement last week for Harris. The storylines — combined with post-debate polling that showed voters breaking toward the Democratic candidate — left the impression of a teetering campaign.
The Florida episode, however, offered an opportunity for a reset — and for Trump to once again rally some of his most ardent supporters by declaring his resilience in the face of persecution.
Some of Trump’s aides and allies were quick to respond. House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, in a statement, said Americans “must unite behind him in November to protect our republic and bring peace back to the world”.
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“We must ask ourselves how an assassin was allowed to get this close to President Trump again?” Stefanik said. “There continues to be a lack of answers for the horrific assassination attempt in Pennsylvania and we expect there to be a clear explanation of what happened today in Florida.”
Most congressional Republicans simply posted gratitude for the president’s safety, while calling for an end to political violence. Democratic lawmakers took a similar tack, decrying political violence and thanking law enforcement.
“I have been briefed on reports of gunshots fired near former President Trump and his property in Florida, and I am glad he is safe,” Harris said in a social media post. “Violence has no place in America.”
The bipartisan congressional task force established after the Pennsylvania shooting said it would also investigate the Florida incident. Both campaigns continued sending fundraising requests and did not announce plans to suspend political advertisements or candidate travel.
“MY RESOLVE IS STRONGER AFTER ANOTHER ATTEMPT ON MY LIFE!” Trump wrote later in the night in a text to supporters.
The political resonance of the incident may depend on what details emerge about the suspect in the case.
According to law enforcement officials, Secret Service officers clearing the golf course ahead of Trump spotted a man in the woods with a gun and opened fire. The suspect — later identified as 58-year-old Ryan Routh, according to federal officials who requested anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation — fled in a black car but was later detained after a chase.
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Police said they recovered an AK-47 style rifle on the scene, along with a digital video camera and two backpacks with ceramic plates that could be used as body armor. But the officials said they would wait to release more information about the suspect and his background until formal charges were filed.
In the Pennsylvania case, law enforcement officials haven’t been able to establish a particular political motive behind 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks’ attempted assassination.
But following the shooting, the Secret Service has acknowledged increased concern over political violence. Trump’s protective detail was also increased earlier in the year due to threats emanating from Iran toward the former president. The Secret Service further increased resources for Trump after the Pennsylvania incident.
Polls show that Trump’s advantage over President Joe Biden improved slightly in the aftermath of the July attempt on his life, which became the centerpiece of his speech at the Republican National Convention a week later.
But the long-term impact was difficult to measure with the whirlwind of political events, headlined by Biden’s catastrophic showing in the first presidential debate and his subsequent decision to drop out and endorse Harris as his successor. On Sunday, Harris held a 49% to 47.3% advantage in the RealClearPolitics polling average.
