If momentum in the US presidential race was not already in favour of Trump, the failed assassination attempt – and subsequent pictures of the former President, defiant fist in the air, blood dripping from his ear, a US flag hanging above him – have propelled him firmly into the driver’s seat ahead of the elections in November.
Bitcoin prices surged to a two-week high following the attack on Trump, a self-styled champion of cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin rose by 8.6% earlier today (15 July), reaching a two-week high of $62,698 in year-to-date gains of 47%. Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, was also up by 6.8% to $3,322.
Analysts and investors say the assassination attempt, which came within three inches of shooting Trump squarely in the face at a Republican campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday (13 July), has bolstered his chances of returning to the White House.
Trump’s would-be killer is reported to be 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, a registered Republican whose motives remain unknown. Crooks fired several shots from an AR-16, killing a former Pennsylvania fire chief and wounding two other attendees.
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By GlobalData
Where do Trump and Biden stand on crypto?
Trump has not provided any specifics on his proposed cryptocurrency policies, but he has repeatedly criticised the Democrats’ attempts to regulate the sector.
He also welcomed the title of ‘Crypto President’ during a June fundraiser in San Francisco, home to many of the US technocrats who Trump has attempted to win over – successfully, in the case of Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
President Biden, by contrast, has advocated tighter regulation of the crypto world.
In 2022, Biden passed an executive order for a crypto regulation framework, calling on federal agencies to eliminate illegal crypto activity – brought to light by the Sam Bankman-Fried case, the founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange who in March was sentenced to 25 years in prison for stealing $8bn from customers.
Biden was also a vocal critic of a crypto regulation bill passed by the US House of Representatives in May, saying it “lacks sufficient protections for consumers and investors who engage in certain digital asset transactions”.
There have been other concerns that the bill limits the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) capacity to impose guardrails on crypto assets.
How does the shooting bolster Trump’s campaign?
Trump’s near-assassination has added new fervour to his already cult-like following.
Republican senators and Trump supporters have blamed Biden, the Democrats and US media for the shooting, saying the Biden campaign’s tactic of painting Trump as an existential threat to democracy has provoked Crooks’ actions.
The Democrat narrative of the dangers posed by Trump, often built around the talking point of the 6 January Capitol storming by his supporters, will be weakened.
Saturday’s events have also strengthened Trump’s frequent allegations that DC insiders and so-called ‘deep state’ are out to get him, whether it be stealing the election or attempting to lock him up for various legal charges. Now Trump can claim ‘they’ tried to kill him, adding to a self-characterisation of martyrdom.
Biden, meanwhile, has made headlines for his fragility. On 27 June, the President put in a disastrous debate performance against Trump, and he mistakenly introduced Ukraine’s President Zelensky as “President Putin” at the Nato summit in Washington last week.
Added to this image of incompetence is the response of the Secret Service, tasked with protecting US Presidents, to the shooting.
Questions have been raised over why the agency did not secure the roof on which the gunman was located before the rally, act on any of the general public’s warnings or remove Trump from the stage immediately despite his request to “let me get my shoes”.
In a statement, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said personnel neutralised the shooter, and are working alongside state and local authorities to investigate the incident. The FBI has also launched its own investigation.
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