‘It’s over!’ Progressives fear Trump’s assassination attempt will win him the presidency

Hasan Piker, a popular progressive streamer with millions of followers, was broadcasting live on Twitch on Saturday when his viewers alerted him to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

As he repeatedly watched clips of the former president being led away by Secret Service agents, he declared the election was as good as done.

“He’s still throwing up fists as they’re putting him in the f****ing car bro,” he said through a grimace. “Stop! Every fist is another 10,000 in a f***ing red state.”

“It’s over!” he said of the upcoming election.

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, many progressives experienced the same feeling.

Looking beyond the horror of the day, many were quick to recognize that the images of a bloodied Trump, surrounded by Secret Service agents, pumping his fist in the air as he shouted “fight, fight, fight” to the crowd, would be a potent political asset — maybe even a game-changer.

Deep Singh Badhesha, an attorney and political activist based in Denver, shared that now famous image of Trump on X with an urgent warning: “Landslide.”

“I think if Joe Biden wasn’t the other candidate it would bolster Trump a bit, but that would eventually fade over time,” he told The Independent.

“But it’s the juxtaposition against Joe Biden, who comes across to the average American voter — someone who’s not plugged in — as feeble. He doesn’t look all there. Doesn’t look mentally strong. And people get really worried about that,” he said.

In contrast, the pumping fist Trump projects strength, even if forced. “We know he has terrible policies, but that’s not what’s going to come across to most low-information voters,” Badhesha added.

One veteran Democratic consultant, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to NBC