Is this the moment Trump won a second term?

WITH blood on his face and a fist in the air, Donald Trump tells supporters "fight, fight, fight" in what will be the defining image of his campaign.

- CHRISTOPHER BUCKTIN

The assassination attempt has solidified Trump's image as a defiant survivor and reshaped the 2024 presidential race.

His resilience after coming so close to death has galvanised his supporters and made Democrat rival Joe Biden look more vulnerable than ever. Trump's mugshot, taken after his arrest on election fraud charges in Atlanta, was once the emblem of his campaign but it has now been overtaken by the image of him rising to his feet after he was shot.

The gunman's motive remains unknown but the attack lays bare the polarisation in the States.

Trump's Make America Great Again Republicans wasted no time in exploiting the situation, opting for division instead of seeking unity. JD Vance, a favourite to be Trump's running mate, declared the shooting "not just some isolated incident".

Mike Collins, a Republican congressman, said: "The Republican District Attorney in Butler County, PA, should immediately file charges against Joseph R Biden for inciting an assassination." Ludicrously, he also posted that Biden had "sent the orders".

But Democrats found themselves struggling to respond, given Biden's recent words on Trump.

He told donors: "It's time to put Trump in a bullseye". He backed it up with posts branding his political nemesis a would-be "dictator".