Trump displayed great presence of mind in raising his fist in defiance and shouting ‘fight’ as secret service agents sought to move him to safety. He now becomes a living martyr for the MAGA cause. Not since Theodore Roosevelt continued speaking for an hour after he was shot in October 1912 has an American president displayed similar toughness.
The FBI has identified the suspected shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old man from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, who the Washington Post says was registered Republican. Crooks was killed by secret service agents after firing multiple shots from outside the rally venue, on a rooftop several hundred yards from the podium. Crooks reportedly used an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle.
When he appears before the Republican convention in Milwaukee next week, Trump, who is a master of stagecraft, will be greeted as a saviour. Melania Trump, who had not been scheduled to speak at the convention, will now surely feel compelled to make an appearance supporting her husband.
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