Analysis: Some experts had been warning political violence could spill over in the United States. Now, those predictions have become a reality, writes US correspondent Logan Church.
That bullet was a few centimetres away from changing the course of history.
Donald Trump is in the unprecedented position of being both a former president, and a presidential candidate — a candidate that's leading in the polls.
A few more centimetres and his life may have ended at that Pennsylvania rally earlier today.
I've spent a lot of time in recent months talking to political commentators, politicians, analysts — you name it — and almost all of them have said the same thing: the United States is on the brink of political violence.
Well, we're here now. It's happened.
Some of the biggest questions surrounding the attack such as the identity of the shooter and their motivations remain unclear. (Source: 1News)
Some of the biggest questions such as who shot at Trump and for exactly what reason remain unclear.
But we do know this will be one of the most intense and intensely scrutinised law enforcement investigations the US has ever seen.
What is also certain is that America is about to head into a dark time.
Tens of millions of Americans describe themselves as "MAGA Republicans", named after Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign slogan "Make America Great Again".
They love Trump, and believe he will save their nation, which he has told them is under attack from all directions.
And now their leader has been shot.
Leaders across the political spectrum are condemning the attack — both out of genuine concern for Trump but also fears that this sort of violence could spread.
Ahead of what was already expected to be a volatile election cycle, it's also proof that the mammoth effort put into protecting politicians in the US is not iron-clad.
These events are heavily fortified. I recently went to a Trump rally in the same state as Trump's rally today. To get into the arena you had to pass though layers of airport-level security run by the Secret Service.
When Trump appeared on stage at that rally, the floor around him was surrounded by armed police and Secret Service agents. In the days leading up to the rally the venue would have been swept for explosives or anything that could pose a risk to the former president.
Whatever the investigation into today's shooting unearths, Trump's shooting will go down as one of the biggest Secret Service failures in modern history.
Trump has already said he plans to still be at the Republican National Convention, set to begin in Milwaukee next week. That's where he's expected to be formally confirmed as the Republican candidate for the presidential election.
The political temperature in this country ahead of one of the biggest political events in the calendar has now been dialled up to 100 degrees.
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