‘He just won’: Republicans, pollsters and betting sites suggest assassination attempt will see Trump win

Donald Trump’s chances of being elected president for a second time increased after the attempt on his life at a rally in Pennsylvania, according to an array of Republicans, pollsters and betting markets.

Images of the former president with a bloodied face, and pumping his fist in the air following the shooting on Saturday, prompted an outpouring of support from across the political spectrum. But conservative figures and GOP lawmakers pointed out the potential political impact of the shocking event.

“President Trump survives this attack — he just won the election,” Wisconsin Republican congressman, Derrick Van Orden, told Politico shortly after the shooting.

“This will energize the base more than anything,” Tim Burchett, Republican representative from Tennessee, also told Politico. “With his fist in the air and he didn’t want to leave. And he’s yelling, fight, fight, fight. That’ll be the slogan,” he added.

Those sentiments were echoed by Frank Luntz, a veteran Republican pollster, who suggested the shooting in Pennsylvania “will definitely impact the final vote, guaranteeing that every Trump voter will actually vote.”

“That participation gap is worth at least 1% and as much as 2%.  And because it happened in Pennsylvania, the impact will be highest in Pennsylvania.

“This doesn’t guarantee that Trump flips Pennsylvania.  But the long and winding road for Joe Biden just became even longer and windier,” he wrote on X.

Investors and betting markets also appeared to move toward Trump. “The election is likely to be a landslide. This probably reduces uncertainty," Nick Ferres, chief investment officer at Vantage Point Asset Management, told Reuters.

Ferres noted a surge of some 20 points in the polls for Ronald Reagan after