The American flag was unfurling as he stared at the sky with red rivulets running down his face, stretching her white stars and bright stripes until they engulfed Trump’s horizon. The American people were ecstatic.
It’s over.
The 2024 presidential election campaign was shaped by the moment that Donald Trump’s rally became the Rocky IV closing scene. The only thing missing was the Beaver Brown Band’s “Heart’s on Fire”, blazing away in the background.
The real impact of the attempted assassination will not be felt for several weeks. We deal with something shocking or emotionally upsetting in a piecemeal manner because it is too overwhelming to grasp all at once. We first compare and contrast the attempted assassination of Trump with other events. (JFK? The George W. Bush shoe incident? RFK? Reagan and Hinkley? Or maybe a foreign assassination, i.e. Shinzo Abe?), but these analogies fail to capture the sheer magnitude of what we all witnessed.
This was… different.
It was partly different because of Trump’s differences. It’s hard to find a comparison that is appropriate for his life journey. The other is the fake intimacy of the media of today: even if you have never been to a Trump rally in person, you probably watched hundreds of clips on TV, social networks, and online. Trump has a knack for forming personal relationships with a wide range of people through media platforms. But more than anything, today’s culture is what fuels this feeling of familiarity. Trump isn’t just someone who we watch, he’s someone that we know.
Last night, Americans saw a person they know in real-time get shot through the head.
This moment changes the trajectory of both candidates. Trump has beaten death and survived the lawsuits, threats, and even the bullets from his most ardent critics. This moment explains why UFC fans are so fond of the former president. It almost appears that his life and mission are being protected by the divine.
Trump was a mere man before. Now? Indeed, he is still a male, but the feeling feels different. There are Celestial Forces that are not bound by the trivialities of partisan politics. It is the elevation of a leader from prophet to saint. Nietzsche said in 1888 that “what doesn’t kill makes me stronger.” Today, Trump exudes power, strength, leadership, determination, and defiance.
Biden’s political calculus is also permanently changed: If you are trailing, it’s incentivized for you to attack. Depending on how far you are behind, you will need to attack. It’s the quickest way to make up for lost ground. In binary elections, where you have to choose between A and B, mobilizing your supporters to vote against the opposition is as effective as convincing them to vote in your favor. The more you can make your opponent look bad, the better your chances are.
Biden can’t attack Trump like he used to before the assassination. He can’t use phrases like “target” or “crosshairs.” He can’t use dehumanizing language. He cannot suggest that the MAGA movement and Trump would make the world a better place.
Sharp colors create sharp contrasts. Biden’s ability to freely speak in public has now been lowered. Biden used to demonize the Devil. He’ll now be demonizing a man who deserves our respect, sympathy, and admiration, not just another man. If it turns out the Biden administration was not completely forthright about allocating Secret Service Protection to their opponents, then all hell will be unleashed.
Biden’s campaign has been stripped of its most powerful ammo by age, fate, incompetence and rapidly advancing dementia. But the only thing left for him is his thin veneer as a nice guy.
The number one takeaway of the Trump assassination has not yet happened. The emotional turmoil will take several weeks to settle down, hit bottom, and change the perception of voters.
There is a machismo difference. You can call it the toughness gap. On the one hand, there’s a Trump who is unbowed, undamaged, and unrepentant, raising his fist high in the air, encouraging Americans to keep fighting the good fight. Joe Biden, on the other hand, is stumbling, falling, shuffling, and even looking like a stiff sneeze might send him to the ER. While Donald Trump channels his inner Stallone to pose for a remake of “Rocky IV”, Joe Biden appears older than the dust on Nebuchadnezzar’s feet. It’s an amazing contrast.
This contrast will remain with the American public through November.
