Donald Trump’s supporters have hailed him a ‘badass’ for his defiant handling of the assassination attempt last night.
The 45th President, 78, mouthed the word ‘fight’ as blood trickled down his cheek after a bullet pierced the ‘upper part’ of his right ear.
The image of a bloodied Trump raising his fist aloft could be a defining one and could see his popularity soar ahead of November’s election in echoes of Ronald Reagan’s shooting in 1981 when the country rallied around him.
Trump had thrown himself to the floor after would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, fired at least eight bullets at the Republican candidate just minutes into his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The US Secret Service swarmed on top of Trump before he got to his feet in a show of defiance that was captured in a photo seen all over the world.
The snap of Trump with his arm aloft as agents huddle around him with an American flag flapping in the background is already iconic as the former President refused to leave the stage without his shoes.
His son Donald Trump Jr. has pinned the image to his X account which has been viewed more than 13 million times. He wrote alongside it in triumph: ‘He’ll never stop fighting to Save America.’
Donald Trump ‘s supporters believe the assassination attempt last night and the image of the former President’s raised fist could galvanise him ahead of the election
The US Secret Service swarmed on top of Trump before he got to his feet in a show of defiance that was captured in a photo seen all over the world
Trump pumped a fist at the crowd and did not seem to severely injured as he walked on his own off the stage, surrounded by secret service
His son Donald Trump Jr . has pinned the image to his X account which has been viewed more than 13 million times
Sitting members of Congress also posted the photo as Republican Derrick Van Orden declared Trump had ‘just won the election’.
Ahead of next week’s Republican convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Trump is expected to receive a hero’s welcome as he officially accepts his party’s nomination.
GOP strategist Mike Murphy told Politico: ‘The raised fist will become the iconic symbol of the convention.’
Republican Congressman Tim Burchett believes the attempt on Trump’s life ‘will energise the base more than anything’.
‘And he, you know – 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 told Politico.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said he will travel to the United States for the convention as a ‘show of friendly solidarity’ with Trump.
Mr Farage said he ‘almost certainly would have been’ at Saturday’s rally in Pennsylvania if he had not won his Clacton seat at the General Election.
He told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky News: ‘It’s the convention next week and I have now decided I will fly out and see him next Thursday and listen to his acceptance speech.
‘I will absolutely do that as a show of friendly solidarity. Donald Trump is not perfect, but some of the things that are allowed to be said about him are frankly appalling.’
Police personnel stand over the body of Thomas Matthews Crooks on a rooftop
Officers stand guard outside a cordon in Bethel Park as cops search an address registered to Crooks
The former president appeared to be shot in the ear
Trump had blood streaming down his cheeks as Secret Service agents put him to the floor
Blood can be seen pouring from the side of the former president’s head
Mr Farage said he had a drink thrown at him ‘as recently as last Wednesday’, adding on the safety of MPs: ‘I find it astonishing that Members of Parliament can walk out across the square and get on the London Underground, I find it astonishing that, frankly, more MPs aren’t attacked.
‘That is how unpleasant so much of the narrative is. It’s become deeply personal and I’m afraid – and a lot of the public hate this – but if you want people to stand for public office, we’re going to have to protect them properly.’
UFC fighters have also rallied around Trump as former welterweight champion Colby Covington declared him ‘the toughest man on the face of this earth’.
‘God bless him and his family right now,’ he added on X.
Former middleweight champion Sean Strickland said: ‘Trump is an utter savage… Man gets shot and still is for his people… Utter savage….’
Meanwhile, after his fight at Saturday’s UFC event, Evan Elder gave a shoutout to Trump.
‘Hey. I heard they just tried to whack my boy Trump,’ he said. ‘I’m glad that man’s okay. Long live Trump. Let’s go baby Trump 2024.’
A member of the crowd was killed in the deadly shooting, while two others who were wounded are in a critical condition. All three are males, according to law enforcement officials.
Covington is an ardent Trump supporter and visited him at the White House back in 2018
Crooks was shot dead by a US Secret Service sniper after he opened fire from a rooftop just 130 yards from where Trump was stood.
His father, Matthew Crooks, 53, told CNN he was trying to figure out ‘what the hell is going on’ but would ‘wait until I talk to law enforcement’ before speaking.
Law enforcement sources told CBS News that Crooks, from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, had been armed with ‘an AR-style rifle’.
In a post to his Truth Social network, Trump thanked the Secret Service and other law enforcement ‘for their rapid response’.
‘I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,’ he said on social media.
‘Much bleeding took place, so I realised then what was happening.
‘I want to thank The United States Secret Service, and all of law enforcement, for their rapid response,’ Trump added.
‘Most importantly, I want to extend my condolences to the family of the person at the rally who was killed, and also to the family of another person that was badly injured.
‘It is incredible that such an act can take place in our country.
‘GOD BLESS AMERICA!’
