How two topsy-turvy weeks upended Trump’s 2024 campaign

CNN —

A 17-day stretch with few parallels in American history has upended what looked to Donald Trump’s campaign like a clear path to victory when the former president stepped on the Republican convention stage in Milwaukee.

In that moment, a unified Republican Party had rallied around Trump after he survived an assassination attempt. His opponent, President Joe Biden, faced sagging poll numbers, sluggish fundraising and intraparty concerns over his own viability that were reaching a fever pitch.

And then the 2024 presidential race was turned on its head.

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN - JULY 20: Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump stands onstage with Republican vice presidential candidate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) during a campaign rally at the Van Andel Arena on July 20, 2024 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Trump's campaign event is the first joint event with Vance and the first campaign rally since the attempted assassination attempt his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) video

Related video ‘We’re actually just the opposite’: Trump says he and Vance are not weird

Trump went off-script and into attack mode in his Thursday night speech to close the GOP convention, delivering sharply partisan remarks that undercut the calls for unity that had preceded him. Three days later, Biden exited the race. By that Monday evening, Democrats had so quickly coalesced around Vice President Kamala Harris that she had effectively cemented the nomination – and was well on her way to shattering fundraising records.

Amid the newfound enthusiasm among Democrats, Trump’s campaign found itself grappling with unwelcome scrutiny over past comments his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD