Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1528951
8 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 6 NOVEMBER 2024 US ELECTION Trump shot at rally On 13 July, Donald Trump became the first president or candidate to be shot since Ronald Reagan in 1981. The former president escaped with a bullet wound to his ear in the attack as he was giving a speech to supporters in Butler, Pennsylvania. Eight shots had been fired by 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, who was positioned on the roof of a nearby building, before he was killed by a Se- cret Service counter sniper. Corey Comperatore, a former vol- unteer fire chief, was shot dead in the crowd as he tried to shield his family from the bullets. As Trump was mobbed by Secret Service agents seeking to shield him, he took a moment to pump his fist and shout "fight" to his cheering admirers in the audience. Musk endorses Trump On the night of the shooting, billion- aire Tesla boss Elon Musk posted on X saying: "I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recov- ery." This proved significant for Trump, not just for the X owner's immense so- cial media presence and general clout - but also for his wallet. Between July and September, Musk donated $75m (£58m) to a campaign group he set up to support Trump's presidential bid, and gave about $44m (£34m) in the first half of October, fi- nancial disclosures show. He's also spoken at a number of Trump's rallies. Biden drops out of the running Pressure had been piling on presi- dent Joe Biden for some time before he withdrew from the race in July. The 81-year-old's frequent blunders during speeches, particularly during a disastrous debate with Trump a month prior, threw cold water over his push for a second term. He instantly threw his support be- hind his vice president Kamala Harris, urging Democrats to donate to her campaign as he pulled out. Harris runs for office She got the president's backing in- stantly, but Harris still needed to be formally chosen as the Democrats' new presidential nominee. The 60-year-old had a couple of po- tential challengers just after Biden dropped out, but it never looked in doubt once former president Barack Obama endorsed her. In the end, no challengers formal- ly presented themselves ahead of the deadline, meaning Harris was de- clared the Democratic candidate in early August. In her first speech after accepting the nomination, she called for unity, say- ing this was "a chance to chart a new way forward". 'Childless cat ladies' Now-infamous comments made by Trump's running mate JD Vance in 2021 resurfaced shortly after the brat endorsement. Vance, speaking to Fox News at the time, had said Harris and other Dem- ocrats were "a bunch of childless cat ladies... miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made". "The entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without chil- dren," he said. Friends star Jennifer Aniston criti- cised Vance's remarks as she shared the clip on Instagram, writing in the caption: "I truly can't believe this is coming from a potential VP of The United States." The Ohio senator said he stood by the sentiment but that his remarks weren't a criticism of people who de- cide not to have children. "This is not about criticising people who, for various reasons, didn't have kids," he said. "This is about criticising the Democratic Party for becoming anti-family and anti-child." The Harris campaign hit back at Vance's comments, saying "every sin- gle American has a stake in this coun- try's future". Trump questions Harris's racial identity In a move that drew gasps from the audience at a convention hosted by the National Association of Black Journal- ists in Chicago, Trump questioned the racial identity of Harris, asking: "Is she Indian or is she black?" He said: "I've known her a long time, indirectly not directly… and she was It's been a whirlwind of a presidential election campaign, consisting of an assassination attempt (and another alleged one), changing candidates and some bizarre claims on the campaign trail. Americans headed to their polling stations yesterday, but here's a recap of some of the biggest moments… The most shocking moments Donald Trump gesturing after he was shot in the right ear after gunfire erupted at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on 13 July