When a major-party presidential candidate is the target of another apparent murder attempt only weeks before an election, there is no political playbook for what to do.

But in the most recent development in a political season that is breaking all previous records and bringing to light the extreme polarisation of the country, the rival camps have found themselves there following what appears to be a second effort to murder Republican contender Donald Trump.

America has nearly escaped the sorrow of having a prominent political figure killed during election season twice in the last two months, as well as the divisive forces that such an uproar may unleash in a nation torn apart by partisanship.

The fact that these kinds of events take place at all is indicative of the pervasive violence that permeates American politics and is made worse by the easy access to weapons. These days, both nominees speak to outdoor audiences from behind secure screens. There will now be new worries that the nation might go even deeper down a dark road during the turbulent days leading up to Election Day.

An unsettling truth that individuals who run for the highest office may endanger their lives has returned this year, after decades without an attempt on the life of a high-ranking executive branch official.

President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and her running partner, Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, all expressed satisfaction shortly after that a guy suspected of plotting to attack Trump at one of his Florida golf facilities was apprehended before he could fire a shot and that the outgoing president was safe.

Shortly after escaping his first, much closer attempt at assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, Trump sprang up and exclaimed, "Fight, fight, fight." On Sunday afternoon, he promptly sent out a fundraising email that stated, "I am Safe and Well!"

At the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, the guy arrested in the alleged assassination attempt was seen by the Secret Service six holes ahead of the former president.

Because he believes Harris and the Biden administration weaponised the Justice Department against him, Trump has already implied—without providing any proof—that they were involved in the Pennsylvania murder attempt. However, the courts have handled all of Trump's criminal issues routinely, and there is no proof that the White House is anyway engaged.

The campaign has been volatile, defying expectations and convention, and this appears to be the second attempt at assassination. Reluctantly giving way to his vice president, who has the opportunity to become the first Black woman and South Asian commander in chief, the current president for the first time since 1968 abandoned his reelection campaign within months of the election. The Republican candidate, a convicted felon, is being prosecuted on many counts for his extraordinary attempt to hold onto power following the last election loss. Trump would be just the second president to lose reelection and win a nonconsecutive second term in office if he were to return to the White House.

(Sources: cnn.com)