Trials, withdrawals and assassination attempts: 15 key moments that decided the US election

Author: Lorenzo Tondo, Chris Michael Source: The Guardian Translation: Shan Ouba, Golden Finance

This election has been called the most critical in American history and it has undoubtedly been one of the most turbulent, with the incumbent president withdrawing from the race late in the campaign, one of the candidates being convicted of a crime and several assassination attempts. We look back at some of the key moments in this political struggle against the backdrop of two global conflicts, a struggle that is at stake for the survival of American democracy.

1. Challenger

Florida's far-right governor Ron DeSantis is widely considered the most likely Republican candidate to prevent former President Donald Trump from becoming the party's nominee in his third re-election campaign. However, despite the support of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, DeSantis announced the end of his failed campaign in January and finally supported Trump. Trump's team once slandered DeSantis as "pudding fingers" because of his eating habits. DeSantis almost ran as the incumbent candidate, but his final strong opponent was former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who unexpectedly became the face of the anti-Trump ticket. Questioning Trump's mental health and loyalty to the U.S. Constitution, the former UN ambassador won a large number of support and persisted until Super Tuesday in March, when she finally announced her withdrawal, leaving Trump as the last major candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination. Nikki Haley (left) and Ron DeSantis (right) failed to prevent Trump from becoming the Republican nominee for a third time. Image credits: Bloomberg, Getty Images, Reuters, EPA

2. President

In the history of American politics, incumbent presidents seeking reelection usually have a significant advantage in the campaign. However, Joe Biden, the oldest president in American history, has bucked the trend, as his often incomprehensible rhetoric, frequent gaffes, and even incoherent speeches have raised concerns about whether he is too old to face off against Trump again. However, with almost no opponents, the 46-year-old US president won all the Democratic primaries, became the party's candidate in 2024, and vowed that despite his advanced age, he is still the most capable candidate to defeat Trump.

Joe Biden waves to supporters after speaking at a campaign event in March. Photo credit: Brynn Anderson/AP

3. Trial

The first real shock of the election campaign came on May 30, when 12 jurors in New York City ruled that Trump became the first former president in American history to be convicted. A jury found him guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to conceal a scandal before the 2016 election. Trump’s legal troubles extend far beyond that: He also faces more than 90 criminal charges, including racketeering charges in Georgia that accuse him of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and the case also marked a milestone: the first detention photo of a U.S. president. (The case later took a dramatic turn when it was revealed that prosecuting prosecutor Fanny Willis had an affair with the prosecutor she hired, and the case was suspended pending a judge’s decision on whether to disqualify her.) Separately, in February, a federal judge ruled that Trump must pay $83.3 million in damages to author E. Jane Carroll, who filed a defamation lawsuit after Trump publicly denied an allegation of sexual assault, which the judge found to be “substantially true.” Many other cases remain stagnant as Trump continues his usual legal strategy: delay, delay, and delay.

The Fulton County Sheriff's Office released a photo of Donald Trump's face. Image source: Fulton County Sheriff's Office/Reuters

4. Debate

Biden's performance in the first presidential debate held in Atlanta, Georgia on June 27 was perhaps the worst in American history. His voice was hoarse, hesitant, stumbling several times, pausing awkwardly, and even vague at times, before he finally claimed: "We finally beat Medicare." Senior Democratic Party officials and donors panicked, accusing the Biden campaign and the media of failing to fully consider his significantly declining mental state. At the age of 81, calls for Biden to step down are growing, and Democratic strategists are beginning to question whether it is time to replace him with a younger candidate to face Trump.

In the first presidential debate between Trump and Biden in June, the president shocked Democrats with his poor performance. Photo: Gerald Herbert/AP

5. Immunity ruling

On July 1, the U.S. Supreme Court made a stunning ruling: Trump enjoys at least partial immunity from criminal prosecution within the scope of his presidential "official conduct." The ruling is a major victory for Trump, destroying the possibility that Trump will face a criminal trial for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election, at least before the new election in November 2024. The ruling is also the latest demonstration of the right-wing power's control of the Supreme Court, which Trump has facilitated by appointing three ultra-conservative justices. Not only did the conservative justices overturn Roe v. Wade - a great victory for the anti-abortion movement, which Trump is proud of, and the issue has once again become a focus in the 2022 midterm elections and the 2024 election - but they also caused greater controversy in May when a photo showed that an upside-down American flag supporting Trump's "Stop the Steal" campaign had been flying in front of Justice Samuel Alito's home. Since the immunity ruling, special prosecutor Jack Smith has filed a new indictment with more concise charges. Trump responded by saying that if he is re-elected, he will fire Smith "in two seconds."

6. Shooting

On July 13, at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump was shot in the right ear by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from the roof of a nearby building with an AR-15-style rifle. Crooks fired eight shots at Trump, who stood under the protection of security personnel, raised his fist and shouted: "Fight, fight, fight!" This moment became an iconic photo. The shooting killed one participant and seriously injured two others; Crooks was shot dead by security personnel. Just nine weeks later, on September 15, Trump was once again targeted for assassination, this time at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, where the Secret Service found 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Ruth hiding in the bushes with a rifle. The events not only sparked a crisis for the Secret Service, but also provided a powerful rallying cry for Trump’s reelection: He appeared at the Republican National Convention after the Butler shooting wearing earmuffs to a rapturous ovation.

Suspected gunman shot dead after attempted assassination of Donald Trump

7. Withdrawal

At 1:46 p.m. on July 21, Biden announced that he would not seek re-election - ending weeks of intense speculation and enormous pressure from lawmakers, donors, activists and voters, all of whom had doubts about his ability to defeat Trump again. The intervention of actor and Democratic fundraiser George Clooney played a key role: "It's cruel to say it, but when I spent time with Biden three weeks ago, he was no longer the 'big thing' Biden of 2010," he wrote. Biden's longtime political ally, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, also played an important role at a critical moment, deciding to limit the president's legacy to one term, which she called a "cool calculation" for the sake of the country - she later told The Guardian that she has not contacted her old friend Biden since then.

8. Coronation

On August 23, with Biden's full support, Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination on stage in Chicago, becoming the first black woman to lead a major political party. Harris declared that this election was an opportunity for the United States to "forge a new path forward" and encouraged voters to write "the next great chapter of the most extraordinary story ever told." The impact of the move was immediate: She raised more than $1 billion in less than three months, a record, and drew enthusiastic crowds to energetic rallies where she focused on reproductive rights, economic aid for the middle class, and preserving American democracy.

Kamala Harris accepts the Democratic nomination and calls on Americans to "fight for this country" 

9. Dark Horse

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a descendant of the most famous Democratic family in the United States, once received as much as 10% support in national polls and announced his withdrawal from the independent presidential campaign. Kennedy faced a series of scandals, including being accused of assaulting a former nanny. He also admitted that it was indeed him who dumped a bear carcass in Central Park a decade ago, a case that had confused New Yorkers. After dropping out of the race, the environmental activist turned vaccine skeptic and swung between the two parties - he reportedly approached Harris in August to discuss whether to support her in exchange for a job, and later chose to support Trump, who allegedly promised to give him control of health agencies. Third-party candidates still in the race include environmentalist Jill Stein (who ran for president on behalf of the Green Party in 2012 and 2016), progressive activist Cornell West and Libertarian candidate Chase Oliver.

10. Vice presidential candidate

In July, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance formally accepted Trump's nomination as his vice presidential candidate - a dramatic change in Vance's position. The author of the best-selling memoir "Hill Country Elegy" once called himself "anti-Trump" and called his new boss "America's Hitler." But if there's one line that J.D. Vance will be remembered for in history, it's his controversial definition of leading the Democrats: "A bunch of cat ladies without kids," he told Fox News host Tucker Carlson in 2021. Harris, on the other hand, chose Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz, a former teacher and high school football coach from rural Nebraska who served in the National Guard for 24 years before entering politics. Waltz has captured national attention with his unexpectedly effective critique of the Republican Party: “These people are just weird.”

Vice presidential candidates: Tim Waltz (left) and JD Vance. Image credit: Associated Press

11. Billionaire

The world’s richest man officially announced what most people suspected after he bought Twitter and renamed it the more extreme X: He is an out-and-out cheerleader for Trump. First by endorsing Trump in the aftermath of an assassination attempt, then by dancing at a Trump rally, the boss of Tesla, Space X and several other companies has thrown himself into the latest of his many jobs with a passion that would put the most politically active billionaires to shame. Musk has become a Trump policy adviser, a mega-donor and (through his APA campaign) a leading figure in the Republican “ground game,” a campaign to get voters to the polls. In October, he also began giving away $1 million a day to Pennsylvanians who registered to vote — leading a judge to order him to appear in court on charges of running an “illegal lottery.” For those who ask what Musk has to gain from it, observers point to billions of dollars in federal contracts and promises by Trump to get him involved in weakening regulators.

Musk jumps on stage at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Photo credit: Evan Vucci/AP

12. Debate 2.0

On September 11, Harris outperformed Trump in their first debate, which seemed to vindicate Biden's decision to bow out gracefully and marked a dramatic change in her fortunes as she narrowly led Trump in the polls - although the polls remained largely flat for the rest of the campaign. The most eye-catching part of the debate, however, was not Harris’s victory but a statement the former president made about Haitian immigrants: “In Springfield, they’re eating dogs,” Trump said. “They’re eating cats. They’re eating the pets of the people who live there.” The statement was soon immortalized by a popular song. It was an obvious lie, but it was quickly debunked. At first it seemed to hurt Republicans, but rather than denying it, Trump and Vance began repeating it as part of an anti-immigrant focus that the campaign has made its driving principle, including a promise to conduct the largest deportation in U.S. history.

Harris vs. Trump: Highlights from the Presidential Debate

13. Celebrities

If Trump can count on the support of the world's richest man, Harris can count on the support of the artist with the highest album sales. Minutes after the debate, Taylor Swift posted an Instagram post in support of Harris, encouraging fans to register to vote, signing herself “Childless Cat Lady,” a nod to Vance’s smear. She wasn’t the only one: Charli XCX had already set off a wave of pro-Harris memes on Twitter, posting “Kamala is the Brat” — a lifestyle inspired by the decadent rave culture of the 2000s and the title of her hit album, Brat — and eventually Beyoncé, Eminem (whose hit “Lose Yourself” was rapped by Barack Obama at a rally in Detroit, and the superstar told his hometown to “speak up” for Harris) and dozens of other pop stars. From actors like Robert De Niro (who clashed with Trump supporters outside the former president’s hush money trial in New York) to the cast of Marvel’s Avengers movies to athletes like LeBron James (“When I think about my kids and my family and how they’re going to grow up, the choice is clear”), most of the highest-profile celebrity endorsements have gone to Harris — even though Trump can boast Hulk Hogan, Dr Phil and Kid Rock in his camp.

Obama raps on stage at Harris' campaign rally

14. Rally

Anger and vicious rhetoric took center stage when Trump and his followers held a rally at Madison Square Garden in New York, where Trump made racist remarks, crude insults and threats against immigrants. The rally featured nearly 30 speakers, some of whom made a series of racist comments targeting Latino, African-American and Jewish citizens. "I don't know if you know this, but there's a real floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it's called Puerto Rico," said Tony Hinchcliffe, who made other controversial comments, including naming a black man while talking about watermelons. In the hours that followed, Democrats, celebrities and Hispanic groups from both parties denounced the comments as "offensive" and "derogatory," with many Puerto Rican voters saying they would switch to Harris - a potentially key voting bloc in the swing state of Pennsylvania. The event has already drawn comparisons to the infamous 1939 Nazi rally held at the stadium, with the Democratic National Committee projecting images on the outside of the building repeating a claim by Trump's former chief of staff that he "praises Hitler" - and while Vance has denied the comparison, many have noted that it wasn't until 2016 that Vance himself suggested Trump could become "America's Hitler."

Donald Trump filled Madison Square Garden with anger, venom and racist threats

15. The Final Pitch

The days before Election Day are always the craziest, and the 2024 campaign is no exception, with candidates trading insults and billions of people around the world watching the latest polls, but the results show that neither Trump nor Harris has a clear lead. With the lights on at the White House bright, Harris drew a crowd of more than 75,000 in Washington, D.C., who called Trump "another little tyrant" who stood in the same spot nearly four years ago and incited a mob to storm the U.S. Capitol in an effort to cling to power. Meanwhile, Trump continued to smear immigrants and rode to rallies in a garbage truck as a stunt to attack Democrats. Police chiefs and sheriffs across the country braced for potential violence against election workers, chaos at polling places and harassment of voters, while unfounded claims of voter fraud raised concerns that if he loses the election, he could again refuse to accept the results — and this time, millions of Americans would do the same.