Is Trump now the unity candidate Biden once was?

• Donald Trump is unlikely to change his aggressive approach to politics significantly despite surviving an assassination attempt, as he has remained unchanged through past crises, including a severe bout of Covid and multiple criminal proceedings.
• The internal dynamics of both major parties have shifted, with Trump now unifying the Republicans while Joe Biden, who once unified Democrats against Trump, is now causing division within his party.

It might take more than a grazed ear to change Donald Trump – even if that grazed ear was caused by a semi-automatic weapon during an attempt on his life.

Throughout his political career, Trump has become known for his belligerent rhetoric and unique approach to facts, attacking his opponents and spreading misinformation to further his cause.

But could being targeted in Pennsylvania change or calm his approach to politics? That certainly hasn't been the case before now.

Trump emerged from presidency unchanged. He survived a bout of Covid during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic without budging an inch. He shrugged off criminal proceedings and indictments without looking back once – although some might argue that was aided by the US justice system and a Supreme Court largely put in place by Trump himself.

So, The News Agents believe, narrowly surviving an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania is unlikely to result in any grand changes in Trump as the 2024 election campaign gathers pace.

“When he won the 2016 election, everyone was saying that the presidency will change Donald Trump, Donald Trump won't change the presidency,” says Jon Sopel.

“I’m going to say that at age 78, Donald Trump is who he is, and isn't going to change.

“Donald Trump is what we saw in that instinctive, visceral reaction in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.”

Trump’s “visceral reaction” to being shot at was to turn to the crowd, and chant “fight, fight, fight” as he was rushed to safety by his security team.

With blood streaming from his ear and a defiant fist raised, it’s an image that could come to define his campaign for a second shot at The White House.

Jon adds that Trump and the Republican Party are “playing it well” – although that play hasn't extended to contacting Helen Comperatore, the wife of Corey Comperatore, the man killed by the Pennsylvania shooter.

She told the New York Post that while President Joe Biden has attempted to make contact, she has heard nothing from Trump or any Republican representative since the death of her husband.

Lewis Goodall believes that if there is any change in Trump, it will have nothing to do with the bullet that came within inches of ending his life.

“One way in which you could argue has changed a bit of late, is that his political nous has become sharper in the sense that he has shown more dexterity, more flexibility, and more willingness to shut up when the political moment allows it,” Lewis says.

He’s referring to the debate between Trump and Joe Biden on 27 June, which saw him uncharacteristically restrained as Biden fumbled line after line, sparking widespread concern about his health and capacity to serve a second term.

Author and journalist Nick Bryant joined The News Agents to discuss the assassination attempt, saying that Trump has become a "different candidate" since the June debate.

"Trump has realised that Joe Biden is losing this election, so he doesn't have to win it," Bryant tells The News Agents.

"It struck me how he kind of reigned himself and dialled himself back during that presidential debate, because he realised he didn't have to land blows on Biden, because Biden was inflicting so much self harm.

"And in the week since that disastrous debate performance, he's been on the golf course for much of the time, of course, he really hasn't seen the need to campaign because the Democrats were just imploding."

Ultimately, the change in Donald Trump happened before the shooting in Pennsylvania - and this could bring new problems for Joe Biden and the hopes of the Democratic Party in the November election.

"Trump has for a decade basically been the biggest force for unity among Democrats, Trump and the fear of Trump is the thing that has gelled the Democrats together," says Lewis.

"Now that's been reversed. Trump has become the biggest source of unity for his own party, whereas previously had been a source of disunity.

"Biden, who had been the tool to defeat Trump and therefore, a big source of unity for the Democrats, has become the source of disunity for the Democratic Party.

"So the party positions have reversed, the internal political position of both men has reversed."

Listen to the discussion in full on The News Agents.