Trump has a closing argument. He’s not sticking to it.
The video of Trump falling to the ground, then rising to his feet from underneath a pile of Secret Service agents with blood streaked across his cheek, pumping his fist in the air and shouting “fight, fight, fight,” is among the most compelling clips in modern American political history.
Captured moments after he was shot in the ear by a would-be assassin in June, it embodies Trump’s carefully crafted narrative that he is strong enough to stare down any foe, foreign or domestic, on behalf of his “Make America Great Again” agenda. A still image has appeared on merchandise and become iconic among his supporters.
And yet the film sits idly in the can, unused so far in the stretch run of his campaign to return to the Oval Office. His advisers refuse to discuss publicly whether his closing ads will include clips of the assassination attempt, but they are well aware of the powerful video in their hands.
A shift to the personal narrative could distract from the substantive issues that Trump aides believe are giving their candidate a leg up over his Democratic rival, Harris. Polls show a close race across seven battleground states that figure to determine the winner of the Nov. 5 election, and Trump is expected to start making his final case to voters at a rally Sunday at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. The burning question is whether Trump will eventually buck his own pattern and stick to the message.
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