While Trump narrowly escaped death, one rally goer died in the crossfire and two others were seriously wounded, placing the Secret Service under widespread scrutiny for its failure to protect the former president.
The agency’s director Kimberly Cheatle stood down amid bipartisan outrage over the incident, several agents from the Pittsburgh field office have since been placed on administrative leave, and Trump and his running mate JD Vance are now using bulletproof glass during outdoor campaign events.
While there has been no evidence to suggest that Biden or Harris interfered with the arrangements for Trump, the Republican claimed that their narrative about him being a threat to democracy may have had something to do with the attempt on in his life.
This image provided by the FBI shows Thomas Matthew Crooks’ rifle broken down as was likely done for transport and the backpack recovered at the scene of the shooting.Credit: AP
“That can get assassins or potential assassins going,” he said. “Maybe that bullet is because of the rhetoric.”
Trump’s appearance on the long-running talk show come as the US barrels towards an election on November 5.
Since Biden dropped out of the race, the 78-year-old former president has struggled to recalibrate against Harris, who is almost 20 years younger and has narrowed the gap in the polls by consolidating the Democratic base and wooing more independent voters than Biden did.
The latest RealClearPolitics poll of averages has Harris leading at a national level, 48.3 per cent to 46.6 per cent, but the race remains extremely tight in the key battlegrounds such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Kamala Harris and husband Douglas Emhoff with Tim Walz and wife Gwen Walz.Credit: AP
In a bid to counter Harris’ momentum, Trump is ramping up his own campaign with a busier schedule in key swing states and smaller-scale events designed to keep him focused on key policy topics, such as immigration and the economy, which draw a contrast with Harris.
The vice president – whose campaign has so far centred on scripted speeches delivered with teleprompters – is also set have her first interview as a presidential candidate amid pressure to explain her policies and U-turns.
Among them are new positions on fracking (which she once said she wants to ban but has since reneged) ; immigration (she once described a border wall as “un-American” but now says she will build one); and private health insurance (she once supported a plan to eliminate it but no longer wants to).
Loading
Harris will appear alongside her vice presidential running mate Tim Walz on CNN at 9pm on Thursday (11am Friday), and will then go head-to-head against Trump at their first debate September 10.
“Five weeks ago she was known as a joke,” Trump said during his discussion with McGraw, in which he also repeated his false claim that the 2020 election was stolen, railed against mail-in ballots, and lamented wind farms killing birds.
“They wanted him out,” he said of Biden, “but they didn’t want her … then all of a sudden, they realised that it’s not going to be politically acceptable (to pick another candidate).”
However, Harris-Walz spokesperson Sarafina Chitika replied: “As Donald Trump’s friend Dr Phil says, ‘you can’t change what you don’t acknowledge’ … While Donald Trump refuses to acknowledge the facts, voters know Vice President Harris is the candidate to lead us into the future.”
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.
Source Agencies
