Republicans predict Trump shooting 'just won him the election' as betting markets show big swing to former president
- Trump campaign is already using his clenched fist salute in fundraising emails
- Pollster James Johnson said it underlined Trump's key advantage over Biden
- READ MORE: Follow all the latest developments in our politics live blog
Donald Trump was already ahead in the polls but some Republicans, and some demoralized Democrats, now think he is unstoppable after surviving an assassination attempt.
Commentators across the board described the photograph of a bloodied former president raising his fist in the air as 'iconic.'
And the episode is already being used in fundraising drives.
'President Trump survives this attack — he just won the election,' Rep. Derrick Van Orden, of Wisconsin, told Politico in a brief interview.
Minutes after the shooting, a Democratic strategist messaged privately to say: 'Trump just secured his reelection.'
President Donald Trump raised his fist in defiance on Saturday evening after bullet grazed his ear. Some Republicans now think he is a shoo-in to win reelection in November
There are still four months to go until Election Day.
But the shooting has allowed Trump to present himself as a strong leader while doubts remain about Biden and his ability to do the job.
The Biden campaign will also have to recalibrate its strategy, amid criticism that its framing of the election as a choice between democracy and authoritarianism created an atmosphere that could have fueled the gunman's decision to target the former president.
Betting markets showed a shift to Trump in the immediate aftermath of the attack.
And veteran Republican pollster Frank Luntz posted on X that the shooting would help turn out Republican voters in November.
'Just as what happened to George Floyd had a lasting impact on tens of millions of Americans, the shooting of Donald Trump will be significantly consequential in a way the shooter never intended,' he said, referring to a black man killed by police officers in 2020, triggering nationwide protests.
Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee told DailyMail.com it would energize the base but the election was far from over.
'Absolutely not. We cannot be complacent,' he said.
'We have to push for wins in the White House, the House and the Senate.'
'President Trump survives this attack — he just won the election,' Rep. Derrick Van Orden, of Wisconsin , told POLITICO in a brief interview
President Joe Biden has endured a torrid time since a disastrous debate against Trump in Atlanta last month. The last DailyMail.com/JL Partners poll put him six points behind Trump
Even so betting markets showed a seven point shift towards Trump during the past day, according to aggregator electionodds.com
And Nick Ferres, chief investment officer at Vantage Point Asset Management, cited Ronald Reagan's surge in support when he was shot in 198s, when he told Reuters: 'The election is likely to be a landslide.'
James Johnson, co-founder of J.L. Partners and DailyMail.com's pollster, said there was no doubt that Trump had underlined one of his key advantages over Biden—that voters see him as 'strong.'
'But a presidential race isn't over until it’s over. We are not in the world of the 70s or 80s when it was possible to win crushing Electoral College victories, he said.
'America is polarized, and the race will be tight in either direction.
'Anything can change between now and November, with the future of the White House in the hands of a small number of voters in a small number of swing states.
Trump's campaign is already using images of his clenched fist salute in fundraising emails.
'I am Donald J. Trump, and I will never surrender,' he said in one of them. 'I will always love you for supporting me.'
