Trump gunshots: America faces a new normal in political violence

“Violence has no place in America,” Vice-President Kamala Harris - who is also Trump's Democratic opponent this election - said in a statement after the incident in Florida.

Details of the apparent assassination attempt – the identity and motivation of the assailant in particular - will ultimately determine the impact this has on American politics. But, for the moment, it seems like – the vice-president’s comments notwithstanding - this kind of violence is increasingly part of today’s America.

Donald Trump, in his first statement following the apparent attempt on his life, promised that nothing would slow him down or make him surrender.

The response fits into a campaign that has often argued the former president has become a target of persecution and attack because he speaks out for the “forgotten” Americans. His words after his first near-assassination in July – “fight, fight, fight” – became a rallying cry for his supporters.

“They’re not coming after me, they’re coming after you,” Trump likes to say. “I’m just standing in the way.”

Now the former president has another dramatic example he can use to illustrate his point.

This latest incident may not pack the emotional heft as the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, however.

That attack happened at a public rally, in full view of television cameras, with the former president bloodied and defiant. One supporter was killed and two others wounded.

This time around, the incident occurred on a golf course Trump owns, with the former president more removed from immediate danger. Without graphic images to replay for days, it may affect how much of an impact this has on the public’s conscience.

At the very least, however, the apparent assassination attempt will generate new headlines that at least temporarily break from what has been a challenging past few days for the former president’s campaign.

Trump’s defensive, uneven performance during last week’s debate against Ms Harris, criticism of his association with the conspiracy-minded Laura Loomer and Sunday morning’s social media diatribe against singer Taylor Swift will be pushed to the side.

Sunday’s drama may be shocking, but with just over seven weeks remaining in this presidential campaign, there seem certain to be more twists to come.

North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher makes sense of the race for the White House in his weekly US Election Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here.