How the Trump shooting will ‘change the contours’ of the White House race

Former US president Donald Trump has survived an apparent attempt on his life after a fatal shooting at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Trump says a bullet grazed his right ear before he was tackled to the ground by Secret Service agents. The shooter was shot dead and one person was killed in the attack.

This masthead’s US correspondent Farrah Tomazin unpacked the chaos of the extraordinary scenes on the ground, which took place just days before Trump will formally accept the Republican nomination. Tomazin joined Samantha Selinger-Morris on a special episode of The Morning Edition on Sunday.

You can listen to the episode in full below.

Samantha Selinger-Morris: I want to ask you about what’s really become the indelible image of this horrible incident, which is Trump after being shot, raising his fist in the air, he’s got blood coming down his ear and across his cheek, and I’m wondering whether you actually think this might boost his popularity. Already I’ve read commentary that this image has echoes of Rocky Balboa and even the US Marines at Iwo Jima.

Farrah Tomazin: It was an extraordinary image wasn’t it? I’ve seen him do that many, many times before but in this particular circumstance, Donald Trump just sort of struck one of the most iconic poses in history. It’s a projection of strength that his supporters love. You heard them chanting and cheering as he was escorted away. And it is something that, according to some political observers, could very much help him win the White House. He’s always had this sort of image of a strongman. And now he has his image of a man who, even as he was shot was telling his supporters to fight on.

SSM: How has Biden responded? And do you think this will actually make things trickier for him to attack Trump during the campaign? Because of course, now, if he attacks his opponent, he’s attacking, someone who has just arguably been the victim of an attempted assassination.

FT: Biden said that he is very grateful that Trump is safe. It’s interesting, because it was only yesterday that a very fired up Biden stepped up his attack on Trump during a rally in the swing state of Michigan. It was the most forceful speech that Biden’s made, I think, since the State of the Union address in March. And it was obviously designed to recalibrate what’s been a very disastrous few weeks for Biden in the wake of the debate. But now he has to recalibrate yet again. And his campaign has paused for tonight, and they’ve sought to pull down their television ads as quickly as possible. They don’t want to be seen as politicising a shocking moment for the nation. They will be recalibrating, at least for now, while we all let the dust settle and take in what’s been a pretty shocking, shocking event.

Listen to the full episode in the player above.