None of this matters tbh that photo op, his reaction, and the energy of hope the events of yesterday generated make the orange dude look heaven ordained. If he fumbles this election it will be the worst choke in the history of American politics.
People ordained the orange dude a long time ago. I think this confirms existing belief. And while it's good to motivate the base, this election is going to be won on the weirdos on the margins and on the fences. So optics can be really different at the fringes.
I picked Trump to win this a year ago (and NATO to fold and Russia to invade Poland again, though there are a few doubts now). It is his to lose. But all the attention and rhetoric around bases is like calling California and Florida battleground states. I don't think it matters in the end.
Anyway, especially since it was a graze, people have a short memory. I mean, even the 2017 Congressional baseball shooting lasted maybe two days of attention:
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/jul/13/survivor-of-2017-congressional-baseball-shooting-d/
The reactions are all over-reactions now. Every news story and economic report is being framed as if that seals it. But the voters who matter most in this have the memory of goldfish.
This reeks of Internetz slooths.