The second assassination attempt will remind voters that people still want Trump dead

As if there hadn’t been enough drama in America in 2024, Donald Trump has survived another assassination attempt.

The attempted killing of the 45th president at his golf course in Palm Beach, Florida, yesterday afternoon was not nearly as threatening as the shooting nine weeks ago in Butler, Pennsylvania. The Secret Service, who faced so much criticism for their failings in Butler, found the would-be killer’s weapon before he was able to target Trump, shots were fired and the suspect appears to have been arrested fleeing the scene.

What took place in Florida will show voters that a lot of people want Trump dead

It’s still big news. Questions will be asked as to how an armed man was again able to get so close to Trump. At a press conference yesterday, an official said that, had Trump been a sitting president, the entire course would have been secured in advance. Given the recency of the last attempt of Trump’s life, that seems wrongheaded. Trumpworld is already suggesting it is another deep-state conspiracy.

That may be more mad talk — yet the incident could still prove to be a major moment in the presidential campaign, chiefly because it brings to mind the ongoing threat to Trump’s life, and will remind voters of his narrow escape in Pennsylvania and his extraordinary courage under fire.

After all the drama surrounding Kamala Harris’s elevation to the top of the Democratic ticket, Trump’s “fight fight fight!” response that Saturday evening in July has somehow faded from the public consciousness.

Last week, in the debate in Pennsylvania, Trump said “he probably took a bullet to the head” because of Biden and Harris’s inflammatory rhetoric against him. But the remark was largely ignored. Most commentary focused on his poor debate performance and his tirades about rallies and Haitians eating pets in Ohio.

Yet what took place in Florida yesterday will prove again to voters that people still want Trump dead. That will probably boost his appeal among the people who don’t. Trump is an extraordinary political candidate, who thrives off enmity — and whatever doesn’t kill him makes him stronger. Sure enough, last night the betting markets improved in Trump’s favor.

This article was originally published on The Spectator’s UK website.