Courts, bullets, and verbal stumbles have left their mark on this year's US election campaign, one of the most extraordinary in the nation's history. Here are five pivotal moments so far as candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris approach election day on November 5.
Guilty Verdict: "Trump Guilty" dominates global headlines. On May 30, the Republican becomes the first former US president to be convicted of felony crimes — 34 counts in total. He is found to have falsified business records to conceal a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels before his 2016 election victory, preventing her from publicizing their alleged affair. During the explosive six-week trial, Daniels reveals painful details about their purported one-night stand. The ordeal temporarily pulls Trump from the campaign trail, but intense media coverage keeps him in the spotlight, despite his criminality. US law does not bar Trump from running for the White House post-verdict, and Republicans reaffirm their steadfast support for their party leader, who still faces three other criminal cases.
Disastrous Debate: Democratic hopes are shattered when President Joe Biden, the party's presumptive nominee, delivers a disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump on June 27. The 81-year-old stumbles over his words and often seems to forget his points, fueling concerns about his fitness to run for president again. Biden dismisses it as a "bad night," but dissenters argue otherwise, with donors threatening to withdraw funding if he does not step down. Post-debate polls show Trump gaining on Biden, but the White House insists there is no chance he will withdraw.
A Bullet for Democracy: A sun-baked Trump rally in Pennsylvania on July 13 becomes the election campaign's most shocking moment. Popping sounds erupt, Trump touches his ear, sees blood, and falls to the stage. Secret Service officers swarm him as screams echo through the crowd. Within seconds, Trump is helped back to his feet. "Fight, fight, fight!" he mouths to the cheering audience, raising his fist in one of the most iconic images in US political history. The gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, is shot dead by the Secret Service, and Trump survives with a minor graze to his right ear. Trump's base is galvanized. "I took a bullet for democracy," he tells supporters at a later rally.
Biden Backs Out: At 1:46 pm on Sunday, July 21, a troubled President Biden announces via tweet that he will not seek reelection, yielding to mounting concerns about his ability to defeat Trump in November. This makes him the first sitting president since 1968 to not seek reelection, upending the White House race. Kamala Harris, the first female, Black, and Asian-American US vice-president, gains Biden's endorsement to replace him in the campaign. Within two weeks, she formally secures the Democratic nomination, becoming the first woman of color to lead a major party ticket. Harris re-energizes Democrats and quickly improves opinion polls by narrowing Trump's lead, including in key swing states.
Second Scare: Trump's golf weekend in Florida on September 15 is interrupted by gunshots — this time fired by a Secret Service agent thwarting what the FBI calls an apparent assassination attempt. The Republican nominee remains unharmed in the second such incident in two months. Investigators say the gunman, Ryan Routh, did not aim at Trump but fled when a security agent fired upon seeing his rifle pointed through a tree line at the golf course. Trump blames the assassination scare on the allegedly provocative "rhetoric" of Biden and Harris. The Democrats condemn political violence, but the incident underscores the volatility of US politics just weeks before voters cast their ballots.
