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Donald Trump may not have changed in the past week, but the presidential race clearly has.
In the seven days since his brush with an assassin’s bullet, Trump has:
► Had supporters speak reverently about their view of God’s plan to save his life, elevating him to an almost divine status.
► Verifiably unified Republicans around him at a rousing Republican convention.
► Seen former rivals like Nikki Haley sing his praises.
► Benefited when a judge he appointed dismissed a criminal case against him in Florida.
► Watched President Joe Biden be isolated by the growing number of Democrats who worry he can’t beat him.
► Read polling that suggests he has an edge in what has previously looked like a neck-and-neck race.
Convention weeks are always supposed to be a moment for a presidential candidate and his party to put on a show and unify their party before the election, but this week has been something apart for Trump. Pairing his momentum with Democrats’ concern about Biden has changed the race.
Biden is essentially under siege as a growing number of Democrats call on him to step aside, arguing it’s the right thing to protect his legacy and give them a chance in November. If Biden were to look for inspiration on how to overcome the naysayers, he could find it in Trump. The former president has improbably, despite a criminal conviction in New York and owing hundreds of millions for defamation and business fraud, emerged from purgatory after he tried to over throw the 2020 election results, to claim his reward, his name flashing in Broadway lights at the Republican National Convention.
Many Americans will probably encounter on social media the riveting earlier portion of the nomination acceptance speech, where he recounted his near-death experience, embraced of the divine intervention theory of his survival and honored the fire chief who died in the attempted assassination, kissing his fire helmet.
But what came later in his 90 minutes on the stage, when Trump rambled off-script, was a rally-style airing of his grievances and factually incorrect boasts about his record. If the focus ever turns from Democrats’ drama back to him, that kind of speechifying could bring back memories of his chaotic years in office.
Trump returns to the campaign trail Saturday in his first joint rally with his running mate Sen. JD Vance of Ohio. They are scheduled to speak at an arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Michigan is one of the key bricks in the so-called Blue Wall, which also includes Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. When Democrats win those states, they can win the White House. But while Democrats are focused on whether Biden will be their nominee, and he recovers from a Covid-19 diagnosis, Trump and Vance are free to campaign without answer.
Trump is over 50% nationally in a poll of likely voters released Thursday by CBS News and YouGov.
Trump’s lead in the polls suggests he could become the first Republican to win the national popular vote in 20 years, since incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Sen. John Kerry in 2004.
Interestingly, most Democratic registered voters in the CBS News poll, 56%, do not think Biden should drop out. Lawmakers are taking a different view. Democrats’ efforts to edge Biden out of the race are an acknowledgment both that Biden trails in the presidential race and also a function of House and Senate Democrats hoping to change the conversation in their own races.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat, joined the list of Democrats calling on Biden to step aside. In a letter to Biden, she said she would support his candidacy if he stays in the race and work to help him win. But…
“Unfortunately, I greatly doubt that the outcome will be positive and our country will pay a dreadful price for that,” she said.
Shooting motive remains a mystery
Investigators continue to be puzzled by what motivated the alleged shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was killed by a counter-sniper moments after firing shots from the roof of a building outside the perimeter at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a week ago.
In the intervening days, CNN has learned that Crooks searched for information on both Trump and Biden, including for details about the Democratic National Convention. Crooks also searched for information about Ethan Crumbley, the mass shooter who killed four classmates at a Michigan high school in 2021. Crumbley’s parents were recently sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter.
CNN has also reported that Trump’s campaign was not told by Secret Service before he took the stage for the open air rally in Butler that law enforcement was searching for a suspicious individual who turned out to be Crooks. Republicans have called on the Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to be fired and a Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee posted video of lawmakers loudly pursuing Cheatle, demanding answers during the Republican convention.
Regardless of what motivated Crooks or how he was able get on the roof and fire at Trump, his attack on Trump could be a pivotal moment for the country since it has imbued Trump’s campaign with a sense of righteousness.
