A moment in history: Former President Trump injured in shooting at his rally in Pennsylvania

This was a moment in which everything changed.

The crack of what sounded like multiple gunshots, Donald Trump briefly touching his ear in the middle of a rally and looking at the blood on his hand, before he ducked out of view.

More shots as the Secret Service sought to protect their principal, and then the image of Trump emerging defiantly pumping his fist in the air as he was bundled to safety.

The screams echoed around the showground in Butler, Pennsylvania as he was taken for an urgent medical assessment.

His campaign later confirmed he was ‘fine'. Local officials confirmed that a man in the audience was shot dead by the gunfire and Secret Service agents killed another man, believed to be the assailant, after shooting him in the head.

A photo taken showing Donald Trump holding his fist in the air, surrounded by his Secret Service bodyguards, with an American flag fluttering behind him has already taken on iconic status, posted on social media by Don Trump Junior with the line 'He’ll never stop fighting to save America'.

The incident may further energise his base and create an even bigger lead against Joe Biden in the key swing states.

For now, though, America is digesting a moment in its history where political violence has once again shifted the calculus.

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