Economists like to say “When the U.S. sneezes, the world catches a cold”. It speaks to the power and influence of America over the globe.

So when a U.S. presidential candidate is shot, the world’s jaw drops.

Former President Donald Trump has dominated headlines this week. He survived an assassination attempt, accepted the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, announced his pick for Vice President, and had a major criminal case against him dropped.

Now that Trump’s sealed the deal as his party’s pick at the Republican National Convention (RNC), let’s take a look at one of the biggest news weeks in modern times.

Last week, Trump was campaigning in Pennsylvania – a key ‘swing’ state that Biden won in 2020. Swing states are so-named because they swing between the two major parties from election to election.

During Trump’s speech, a 20-year-old man opened fire from a nearby rooftop, targeting the former President. A man in the crowd was shot dead, and the U.S. Secret Service killed the shooter.

A bullet hit Trump’s ear, but he was otherwise uninjured.

The moment was live-streamed, meaning photos of Trump raising his fist with blood streaked across his face were instantly beamed across the world.

President Joe Biden immediately condemned the attack and called for Americans to “cool down” the tense political mood.

Days later, we saw a decision that will bring some relief to Trump’s mounting legal bills: one of the four criminal cases against him was dropped.

The case related to stacks of boxes containing classified documents that Trump was accused of taking from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. U.S. officials alleged the boxes contained information about “defence and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries”.

Now, a federal judge has dismissed the trial, after Trump’s lawyers successfully argued there was an issue with the lead prosecutor on the case. The decision surprised some legal experts while the U.S. Justice Department said it’s preparing to appeal the ruling.

Trump is still facing other criminal trials. In May, he was found guilty of falsifying his business records to cover up hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump is still awaiting sentencing in that case, and his lawyers will likely appeal the decision.

The other two relate to his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. It’s unclear if Trump will be given immunity in these cases following a recent Supreme Court decision.

In a presidential election, Democrats and Republicans go through a series of primary elections to choose their candidate. Trump and Biden won almost all of their respective primaries.

This week’s RNC was the final step for the party to choose its Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates for the 2024 election.

More than 50,000 people showed up to the convention in Milwaukee through the week, with the city’s main arenas playing host to senior Republicans and Trump loyalists.

Speakers and performers included model/sex positivity advocate Amber Rose, musician Kid Rock, and former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan.

Trump appeared at the RNC with his right ear taped over. Several supporters at the convention were seen wearing bandages over their own ears, in a show of solidarity with the former President.

The race between a cast of would-be Republican Vice Presidents has also come to an end after months of speculation.

Before this week, a carousel of hopefuls including Kristi Noem (South Dakota Governor), Tim Scott (South Carolina Senator), and Vivek Ramaswamy (biotech billionaire) were all tipped as possible contenders to become Trump’s running mate.

As part of his victory lap following the assassination attempt, Trump’s Vice Presidential pick was officially announced: Ohio Senator J.D. Vance.

Vance is a venture capitalist, ex-Marine, and author of the bestselling memoir ‘Hillbilly Elegy’, which was adapted into a 2020 film.

In the book, Vance depicted disenfranchised communities from white working-class backgrounds in Ohio. It became a reference point to explain a trend of ‘Middle America’ voting for Trump.

He’s also expressed anti-abortion views, raised scepticism about climate change, and tried to block extra American aid funding for Ukraine.

Vance’s political history intrigues many. In 2016, he referred to himself as a “never Trump guy”, declaring in an interview his personal disdain for the then- Presidential candidate. However over time, he’s evolved into a fierce loyalist rallying under Trump’s Republican slogan “Make America Great Again” (MAGA).

On the final day of the convention yesterday, Trump made his first major speech since his attempted assassination.

In his 90-minute address, he formally accepted his party’s nomination to run as President and spoke about being shot.

“As you already know, the assassin's bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life… [I] moved my right hand to my ear, brought it down, and my hand was covered with blood. Just absolutely blood all over the place. I immediately knew it was very serious, that we were under attack,” he said.

Trump’s RNC address also laid out his vision for America, if he wins the 5 November election. Trump’s family confirmed he made changes to his speech in the wake of the attempt on his life.

“The United States will be respected again, no nation will question our power, no enemy will doubt our might, our borders will be totally secure, our economy will soar. We will return law and order to our streets, patriotism to our schools and more importantly we will restore peace, stability and harmony all throughout the world.”

Now that the stage is set for Trump’s Republican candidacy, the Trump/Biden 2020 election re-match appears to be inevitably charging forward. The Democrats will confirm the party’s candidate at their convention next month.

As always, we’ll be here to break down all the biggest moments from the beast that is a U.S. election year.Section 7

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