Assassinations and new threats have changed Donald Trump’s election campaign

NEW YORK — Last month, Donald Trump was on stage at a Long Island rally talking about taxes when he was suddenly startled by something he had seen over his shoulder.

“I thought he was a smart guy,” he explained, joking that he was getting his elbow ready to fight back.

“You know I have a bit of a yip problem here, right?” He added more laughter, using a term familiar to golf lovers to describe a phenomenon once attributed to performance anxiety in which players suddenly lose the ability to make simple punches. “I was ready to begin the duel.”

It was a fleeting moment passed off as a joke. But as he returns to Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday for a rally at the site where a gunman opened fire in July, grazing his ear with a bullet, the fear underscores the ongoing fallout for the candidate and his campaign, as well as for the Nation attention has shifted to other crises.

Aside from the two attempts on his life in as many months, the former president and Republican candidate faces persistent death threats from Iran, which is also accused of hacking senior campaign officials and allies, adding to fears fueled by a tightening security apparatus have already been strengthened, new restrictions on his election campaign are even tighter.

Trump’s allies insist he has not been fundamentally changed by either the gunman who fired from an unsecured roof at the July rally or the alleged attacker who pushed a gun barrel through the fence of his West Palm Beach golf course in September.

The image of Trump standing with his face covered in blood, raising his fist and screaming “Fight!” has become the indelible image of the campaign.

“When you almost lose your life, it stays with you. It stays with him,” said Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, a close Trump ally. “But that doesn’t change his determination. His determination is as strong as ever.”

Threats have changed the way he campaigns

Trump employees are nervous. There have been death threats against his aides, and his team is unable to quickly organize the mass rallies that have always been the hallmark of his campaigns.

Armed security officers are now guarding the campaign’s headquarters in Florida, and staff have been ordered to remain vigilant and vigilant.

Events were canceled and postponed because U.S. intelligence lacked the resources to secure them. Despite the use of glass barricades to protect Trump on stage, concerns remain about holding additional outdoor rallies due to fears of drones.

Trump has accused President Joe Biden’s administration of intentionally denying security resources to help Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent, by preventing him from speaking to large crowds.

“They couldn’t help me. And I’m so angry about it because they’re interfering in the election,” he said in a recent interview with Fox News.

U.S. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement that Trump “is receiving an increased level of protection from the U.S. Secret Service” and that “our top priority is to mitigate risks to ensure his continued safety at all times .” Biden expressed concern for Trump after both assassination attempts, saying in September, “Thank God the president is OK.”

Trump also now travels with increased security, with new traffic restrictions outside his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida and a line of dump trucks and large weapons on display outside Trump Tower in New York when he stays there.

When reporters entered his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, for a news conference this summer, guests — including a little girl in a red, white and blue swimsuit — were forced to get out of their cars and walk through airport-style metal detectors as their vehicles followed Bombs were searched.

Trump’s campaign was briefed last week on ongoing threats from Iran in suspected retaliation for his government’s killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, an act that prompted Iran’s leadership to vow revenge. In August, a Pakistani man accused of suspected ties to Iran was charged with conspiring to carry out political assassinations on U.S. soil. Law enforcement did not name the targets of the alleged conspiracy, but legal filings suggest Trump was a potential target.

Iranian hackers are also accused of stealing information from Trump’s campaign and trying to pass it on to news organizations. According to prosecutors, the accused men began attempting to infiltrate the Trump campaign in May and successfully broke into the email accounts of campaign officials and other Trump allies. They then attempted to “weaponize” the stolen campaign materials by sending unsolicited emails to people associated with Biden’s campaign. None of the recipients who worked for Biden responded.

The cyberattacks forced some employees to change their email addresses, while others had to be careful when communicating online.

Trump has already faced unprecedented legal jeopardy for a presidential candidate: four criminal charges – one resulting in a felony conviction whose sentencing was delayed until after the election, one case dismissed and two still pending – as well as civil suits Potential penalties cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

“I think that from our perspective, just from a campaign perspective, operationally, if there’s one group of people that can handle something like this being thrown into their lap, it’s the team that is Donald Trump “I’ve had to deal with whether it’s lawsuits to keep him off the ballot, indictments or assassination attempts,” Chris LaCivita said , senior adviser to Trump’s campaign.

Trump speaks of divine intervention

As for Trump, he speaks more publicly about divine intervention and muses that God saved him to save the country. He also often says that attackers only target influential presidents.

“Of course, being one inch away from a very different outcome will have an impact on you,” said New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, another ally who said she spoke with Trump the morning after the Butler shooting .

“Of course, these moments really make you think about a higher power, which is why you’re so committed to saving this country,” she said. “I think it further strengthened and strengthened President Trump.”

Trump was recently asked by NewsNation if he was worried about his safety before returning to Butler. “Well, I’m always worried,” he replied.

“I’m going back to Butler because I feel like I have an obligation to go back to Butler. “We never finished what we were supposed to do,” he said. “And I said, when I got shot, I said, We’re coming back. We will come back. And I fulfill a promise; I’m really fulfilling a commitment.”

His most loyal supporters at his rallies, including those on Long Island where he joked about the “yips,” were not dissuaded from seeing him in person.

“I know some people are afraid to come, but I’m not afraid,” said Eileen Deighan, 63, a nurse from nearby Yonkers, New York, who said she was impressed by Trump’s decision to move on given the threats to campaign.

“The fact that he hasn’t given up, he’s willing to fight for our country, how could you not support that?” she asked. “This will that he has – doesn’t give up. It’s very contagious.”

Trump told his supporters at a rally in Wisconsin on Saturday that he would keep fighting “no matter what obstacles and dangers are put in our way.” But he had another point to make.

“I’ll tell you what, I had a good life before I did this,” he said. “Nobody shot me. I’ve had a hellish life.”

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Associated Press writer Scott Bauer contributed to this report from Waunakee, Wisconsin.