US Election 2024: Will second assassination attempt revitalize Donald Trump’s Presidential bid?

With the US Election 2024 due in November, former US President Donald Trump could leverage the second assassination attempt made at him into regaining the political momentum that Vice President Kamala Harris has enjoyed, reports said on Tuesday.

Ryan Wesley Routh's attempt at assassinating the Republican nominee came at a key moment of weakness for the Trump campaign, a Bloomberg report said. Allies had been trying to pull down Donald Trump over his remarks of ‘Haitis eating pets’ and his recent feud with Taylor Swift.

Donald Trump survived a second assassination attempt after shots were fired near the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15, 2024. This incident comes only two months after Trump was first shot while campaigning at Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024.

Familiar response, ‘close call’

Trump blamed the second attack on US Vice President Kamala Harris, saying it was a result of Democrats’ “rhetoric” and “lies” that bullets were flying. James Davis, a Republican strategist, told Al Jazeera that the blame was a familiar response.

“It is kind of a reminder of how close of a call July actually was, how significant it was for so many people,” Davis told Al Jazeera.

The Bloomberg report also stated that the recent assassination attempt at Trump would give the former US President a way of framing himself as a resilient fighter. Despite the shooting, Donald Trump's campaigning schedule remains the same.

“The Republican presidential nominee can campaign this week as a figure unscathed by what he casts as evil forces looking to take him down,” stated Bloomberg. This puts Trump's schedule ‘ in close proximity of voters and allies,’ which is speculated to be fruitful for the Republican nominee.

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump in a close contest

Kamala Harris is also set to hold a series of events in swing states in the upcoming week. Polls have indicated that Trump and Harris are in a neck-to-neck fight in key battleground states.

While politic experts and polls largely agree that Harris won the US Presidential Debate held on September 12, it did not significantly change the race's dynamics.