The assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump on Saturday left the country reeling and sent shock waves through the presidential race just as the Republican National Convention was set to begin in Milwaukee.
President Joe Biden condemned the violence and urged civility in an address to the nation Sunday. Now all eyes are on Trump and the GOP as the former president prepares to announce his vice presidential pick Monday and the campaign shifts in the wake of the attempted assassination.
How the shooting will impact the campaign and the candidates’ messaging and policy agendas will become clearer this week as Republicans and Democrats recalibrate after the attack. The incident is sure to shape Trump and Biden’s rhetoric on the campaign trail, and it could also alter how they engage on policy issues and could ultimately shift the outcome in November.
“My view is that it affects intensity,” said Tom Pyle, president of the Institute for Energy Research. “The pro-Trump crowd is going to be certainly motivated to show up, and I think it leaves the Democrats further confused,” he added. “They have to compose and find a completely new narrative.”
The assassination attempt could shift the tone in a campaign that’s been dominated by personal attacks between the two candidates. Following the presidential debate that left some Democrats clamoring to replace Biden on the ticket, the president stepped up his rhetoric against his predecessor.
“Trump said if he wins he’ll be a dictator on day one,” Biden told a crowd at a campaign rally on Detroit on Friday, the day before the Trump shooting. “And he means it, folks,” Biden continued. “We’re not gonna let that happen. Over my dead body.”
The Biden campaign has also leaned heavily on policy in recent days, criticizing Trump for a policy agenda known as Project 2025 that was organized by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Trump has sought to distance himself from that framework drafted in part by some of his former Cabinet secretaries and high-ranking officials.
Biden laid out his priorities Friday for his first 100 days in a second term, including a pledge to “keep leading the world” on “climate and clean energy.”
If policy issues become a more central part of the campaign, “maybe it’ll elevate the conversation about energy,” Pyle said, a topic where the two parties are “severely divided.” But “it all remains to be seen here,” he said.
Trump and his allies will set the tone for the right at the convention in Milwaukee, where the former president touched down Sunday.
Trump told the Washington Examinerthat he rewrote his convention speech and plans to call for national unity.
“We’re going to see what the message is coming out of the convention,” said George David Banks, who worked on climate policy in the Trump White House. Trump has a moment to “try to be a unifier” and “the type of leader that appeals to lots of people across the political spectrum,” he said.
In addition to naming Trump the GOP’s official presidential nominee, highlights of the convention in Milwaukee will include the announcement of Trump’s vice presidential pick and the approval of the Republican platform.
Contenders for Trump’s running mate include North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Sens. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Marco Rubio of Florida and Tim Scott of South Carolina. Trump told Fox News that he planned to announce his pick Monday.
The former president has publicly praised Burgum’s energy record, but some Republicans think Vance is the likely pick.
The Ohio senator is a Trump “protégé” who could serve as Trump’s “hand-picked successor” to lead the GOP, Pyle said.
The Republican energy platform coming out of the convention will stand in stark contrast to Democrats’ energy and climate priorities.
The GOP platform aims to boost domestic energy production, slash regulations and streamline federal permitting.
Democrats, meanwhile, are crafting their own platform that focuses heavily on efforts to fight climate change and fighting fossil fuel interests while boosting clean energy development.
In the wake of the assassination attempt over the weekend, energy officials who served under Trump rallied around the former president.
“Thank God President Trump appears to be alright,” Trump’s former EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler posted Saturday on the social media platform X. “Thank you Mr. President for your commitment to our country. We stand with you.”
Former Trump Energy Secretary Rick Perry wrote Saturday, “Today we witnessed a tragic event, but the unwavering strength of President @realdonaldtrump — a true patriot — shines through. Our heartfelt gratitude to the @secretservice and local law enforcement for their swift intervention. Our prayers and deepest sympathies go out to the families who lost loved ones today to this act of violence.”
And former Trump Interior Secretary David Bernhardt posted, “Join me in praying for the safety of President Trump and everyone at today’s rally. THANK YOU to the brave law enforcement officers who quickly took action. America needs President Trump’s leadership in the White House.”
