It has often been claimed in this election year that “violence has no place” in American politics. Reality begs to differ: the election season got under way with the near-fatal shooting of Donald Trump, and with just over a month to go to polling day on 5 November, a second attempt on his life will leave a deep mark on the campaign and what lies beyond.

Ryan Routh has been charged with targeting Trump on his Mar-a-Lago golf course armed with an AK-47-type assault rifle and a GoPro camera in a backpack. It’s alleged he was hidden in shrubbery and a few hundred yards away from his intended target when he was spotted by secret service agents.

Luckily, Routh, who had a history of delusional behaviour and had attached himself to the Ukraine cause (in no helpful way, as President Zelensky’s team have made clear, having rebuffed his unorthodox offers of help), was chased and apprehended. But the incident has shown how vulnerable candidates are in a country where at least two-fifths of all Americans live in a household which owns a gun and the debate among antagonists is conducted at a roiling, feverish pitch.

This was a serious attempt on Trump’s life after the late July shooting in Pennsylvania. It has also quickly turned to argumentative collateral in the tightly run final sprint of the White House race.........

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