On July 14, the front pages of American newspapers splashed a riveting photograph: a combative Donald Trump, with blood running down from his right ear, pumping his fist in defiance after an assassin's bullet nearly killed him. The American flag forming the backdrop of the former president's bloodied face gave the moment an added context. The contrast with President Joe Biden's debate debacle on June 27-the world saw on live television a frail, diminished and barely coherent candidate-could not have been starker.
Even Trump's critics acknowledged his presence of mind, which helped turn a crisis into an opportunity.
Despite the possibility of death at the hands of a lone gunman who fired at him during a campaign event at Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, Trump displayed admirable political instincts and situational awareness by getting back in charge seconds after an initial loss of composure. Trump knew the world was watching and he made sure that the image of his feisty response, which even the perennially unfriendly New York Times called "an incarnation of defiance", would be what the voters will remember about the fateful evening. The shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by a Secret Service sniper.
A voluntary firefighter who tried to shield his family, too, was killed in the attack.
"Without a doubt, the attempted assassination helps Trump and further diminishes Biden. It sets up a sharp contrast for many voters between a courageous and defiant challenger and a weak and indecisive incumbent," said Sadanand Dhume, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute based in Washington, DC. Republican strategists will continue to drive home the point that while Trump beat back a semiautomatic rifle, Biden finds it hard to take even a flight of stairs. The president now enters Air Force One through the rear using the shorter stairs there, and avoids the 18-foot climb at the front.
This story is from the July 28, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July 28, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Silent Screams Of Wayanad
Listen to the ground beneath your feet to figure out why heavy rain triggered a killer landslide
Have You Kept Track?
Now that the annual bloodletting is over and done with, and Caesar has extracted what was his due —and then a wee bit more—I can get back to worrying about my finances and sanity. While my perennially anaemic finances pose no problem, I frequently lose my temper because of the threatening messages that I receive, especially around the time of filing my income tax return.
Where is the hero?
Mindaathirikku’’ [keep quiet] has been the strong but unstated message to women in Malayalam cinema. “Shut up! And put up with whatever is thrown your way.
THE MAD, BAD NOMAD
From following the trail of Che Guevara’s Motorcycle Diaries in Argentina to being attacked by thugs in Barcelona, Philip George believes in living life dangerously
TUNE OF HER OWN
As she debuts as music composer, Khatija Rahman is determined to carve a path independent of her father's
I want to be like Bhaichung Bhutia; take Indian football to another level
Football has literally taken Lallianzuala Chhangte places. Born in Lunglei, a hilly town in Mizoram, around 160km from Aizawl, Chhangte was introduced to football by his grandfather.
JUNGLE LOOK
THE WEEK goes searching for spiders and geckos alongside wildlife researchers in Maharashtra’s Amboli forest
THE HILLS ARE BECOMING MORE AND MORE FRAGILE
ON JULY 31, a few hours after the Wayanad landslides, the Union government reissued a draft notification classifying parts of the Western Ghats in six states, including Kerala, as ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs).
Haryana has become the least safe state under BJP
Bhupinder Singh Hooda got the sobriquet ‘Ganga Putra’ after a narrow escape from death in 2003 when his car was swept away by the flooded river Pili in Haridwar.
Accountability of officers who arrest should be fixed
Sporting his trademark pink shirt, Manish Sisodia is his usual affable self. “Yes, I am here now,” says the former deputy chief minister of Delhi with a smile as he sits down for an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, referring to his long stint in jail.