SAN ANTONIO – In the days after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, campaigns for the presidential race are expected to change.
Before Saturday, political science experts said the Biden and Trump campaigns focused on personality and qualities rather than policy. But the attempted assassination has put a pause on these efforts.
Trinity University professor Juan Sepulveda said Trump’s campaign is pushing his survival as a strategy to win votes.
“On former President Trump’s side, their campaign is going to go even deeper on the strength message,” Sepulveda said.
That’s why Dr. Lydia Andrade at the University of the Incarnate Word said the Biden campaign has tough decisions ahead.
“The Biden campaign has been focused on President Trump’s ethical issues, his past campaign activities, and his activities as president,” Andrade said. “But if everything’s been about personalities, when is it OK to attack the gentleman who just had an assassination attempt? That’s a delicate one for the Biden campaign.”
With drastically different stances on what the American Government should look like, the election is in the spotlight.
“We’re still early,” St. Mary’s University associate professor Patricia Jaramillo said. “There’s still a long way to the campaign. The importance of voting is absolutely critical in this coming election.”
Some experts say voter participation may have hit a turning point after the attempted assassination.
“Is there a sympathy vote? Is there something that comes across that makes this notion of strength in an even deeper peace? And that’s going to be kind of one of the key questions moving forward,” Sepulveda said.
As campaigns could change, proof of their success will show at the polls on Nov. 5, 2024.