The Shooting In Florida Could Be Donald Trump's Momentum To Chase Kamala Harris In The National Survey

Donald Trump while playing golf. (X@nickstor)

JAKARTA The Republican candidate for President, Donald Trump, survived after the shooting took place on his golf course at West Palm Beach, Florida, Sunday local time. This incident occurred just two months after Trump was injured in the ear when a sniper opened fire during a campaign in Pennsylvania.

Quoted from the Associated Press (AP), based on leaked information from a source of law enforcement officials, the perpetrator is known as Ryan Wesley Routh (58) a supporter of the Democratic Party. He had fled the location using an SUV before being arrested in another area. The Democrat Party itself is known to be a party supporting Kamala Harris, Trump's opponent in the current US presidential election.

Unair International Relations Lecturer, Agastya Wardhana assessed, although it has not been fully confirmed regarding the perpetrators who are said to be supporters of the Democratic Party, the incident will still affect the running of the presidential election in the US. Like the shooting two months ago, the incident has the potential to benefit Donald Trump in terms of popularity. Moreover, after the inaugural debate, Harris outperformed Trump in a national survey.

This shooting could be a momentum that determines the course of the US Presidential Election. It's very difficult if we argue the incident doesn't help to increase Trump's popularity. It was the same with last July, that after the shooting took place, many people later became more and more openly support Trump," said Agas, Monday, September 16, 2024.

According to him, with the position left behind in the national survey after the inaugural debate, the shooting incident in Florida has the potential to revive Trump's popularity and opportunity to win the presidential election this year.

But it also depends on how Trump's campaign team returns to taking advantage of this momentum. In America, popularity is very important to win the presidential election, just like in Indonesia. Whether people like him or not like him is another matter. The important point is that people may be increasingly discussing Trump, "explained Agas.

However, as was the case of a shooting incident in July, the shooting in Florida is deemed not to encourage the 45th US President to limit the use of firearms. Agas said neither Trump nor Republicans would change their views on possession of firearms by the public.

Both Trump and Republicans have value to maintain the second amendment to the US constitution where every citizen has the right to own a firearm, "concluded Agas.