Has Trump just won the election?
Recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump could be his ticket back into office.
During his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, former President Donald Trump became the target of 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks’ attempt on his life. Trump was struck on his right ear, and has been spotted wearing a bandage over the wound since the shooting.
The shooting came at the cost of 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, who died attempting to protect his family, and the serious injuries of two other spectators.
CNN has noted major social media platforms exercising very different rules in monitoring and policing reactions and the spread of misinformation in stark contrast to January 6th, 2021, which resulted in thousands of account suspensions and the removal of countless posts deemed to be supporting the US Capitol attack.
Whilst concern for the quick and vast spread of misinformation concerning the shooting has been voiced, others are wary of the potentially considerable effect the events within the last few days could have on the outcome of the 2024 election.
Many political officials have shared their concern for Trump and shown their support for his safety. Florida Senator Marco Rubio, posted on X that ‘God protected President Trump.’
In the same vein, Rolling Stone Magazine reported that House Speaker Mike Johnson also shared equal sentiments. Johnson was said to have compared the intervention as ‘“just” like how God had once “miraculously protected” George Washington from a gunfire during an ambush in Pennsylvania in 1755’.
Similarly, former Trump cabinet member, Dr. Ben Carson compared Trumps’ presidency and campaign to a ‘series of trials that God will set right.’
Voices online have grown concerned that the wave of religious support and language surrounding Trump, as well as the survival of the shooting, will transform the felonious former president into a martyr even more so than his potential jailing earlier in the year. As well as potentially expunge previous notions toward him amongst unsure voters.
Some of those who attended the rally have been sharing similar religious sentiments as these Republican leaders, who captured a video claiming a twisted flag resembled an ‘angel’ looking over Trump.
The shift in attitude toward the former President following these events could potentially be hugely substantial in helping Trump back into office for 2024. He is now the survivor of a shooting, a title the Republican party are likely to abuse and one the Democratic party cannot denounce.
In the weeks ahead, it will be important to note how the Democratic party can continue to respond politically, whilst remaining in good taste and favour with America. This could have very well sealed America’s fate.