NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — On Saturday, former President Donald Trump was shot in an attempted assassination at his rally in Pennsylvania.
The shooter was caught on camera on the roof of a nearby building with a rifle in his hand, and was identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.
Authorities said he killed one spectator, Corey Comperatore, before he was shot dead by the Secret Service. The shooting has the entire country reacting, especially with the Republican National Convention on Monday.
“The Republican conventional starts tomorrow I have no doubt they’ll criticize my record and offer their own vision for this country. I’ll be traveling this week making the case for our record and the vision — my vision of the country — our vision,” President Joe Biden said from the Oval Office.
Norfolk State University political analyst Dr. Eric Claville told 10 On Your Side there was a specific moment in Saturday’s chaos that is now the symbol of the RNC.
“Once former President Donald Trump signaled that he was OK with a fist raised, I believe that the message of the RNC, of the Trump campaign, of the MAGA changed at that moment,” Claville said. “That was the starting point for this campaign. I believe that’s the turning point for this convention. I believe that’s going to be the symbol moving into this election.”
He said Biden’s campaign strategy might change after the shooting.
“There may be some rethinking of how the Biden campaign actually holds rallies. Will they go more grassroots now, will they have more of an invite scenario as opposed to, you know, first come first serve?”
As for Trump’s best course of action moving forward, Claville had no doubt he will make the most of the situation.
“He knows how to market,” Claville said. “He’s a real estate mogul. So I believe that he’s got to put the pdeal to the metal. I believe he’s got to move forward with this message of fight, of resiliance, of defiance into what he believes will be victory for himself.”
The RNC will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.