A brief history of presidential assassinations

That image of Donald Trump, blood streaming down his face, fist raised in front of the banner of the republic, will be a defining photo of the 21st century. Someone attempted to kill the former and would-be president, they missed, and Trump survived. His response to his followers? ‘Fight’. We can expect to see him on stage at the Republican National Convention next week in Milwaukee, a bullet wound to his right ear clearly visible. How might America respond?

There have been four successful assassinations of United States presidents – Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley and John F. Kennedy – and numerous attempted killings, of which last night’s can be added to the grim list. After the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan in 1981, his poll ratings jumped from 59 per cent to 70 per cent.