Shocking moments from US election campaign

It’s been a whirlwind of a presidential election campaign, consisting of an assassination attempt (and another alleged one), changing candidates and some bizarre claims on the campaign trail.

With days to go before Americans head to their polling stations, here’s a recap of some of the biggest moments…

Trump shot at rally

On 13 July, Donald Trump became the first president or candidate to be shot since Ronald Reagan in 1981.

The former president escaped with a bullet wound to his ear in the attack as he was giving a speech to supporters in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Eight shots had been fired by 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, who was positioned on the roof of a nearby building, before he was killed by a Secret Service counter sniper.

Corey Comperatore, a former volunteer fire chief, was shot dead in the crowd as he tried to shield his family from the bullets.

As Mr Trump was mobbed by Secret Service agents seeking to shield him, he took a moment to pump his fist and shout “fight” to his cheering admirers in the audience.

Musk endorses Trump

On the night of the shooting, billionaire Tesla boss Elon Musk post on X saying: “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery.”

This proved significant for Mr Trump, not just for the X owner’s immense social media presence and general clout – but also for his wallet.

Between July and September, Musk donated $75m (£58m) to a campaign group he set up to support Mr Trump’s presidential bid, and gave about $44m (£34m) in the first half of October, financial disclosures show.

He’s also spoken at a number of Mr Trump’s rallies.

Biden drops out of the running

Pressure had been piling on president Joe Biden for some time before he withdrew from the race in July.

The 81-year-old’s frequent blunders during speeches, particularly during a disastrous debate with Mr Trump a month prior, threw cold water over his push for a second term.

He instantly threw his support behind his vice president Kamala Harris, urging Democrats to donate to her campaign as he pulled out.

Harris runs for office

She got the president’s backing instantly, but Ms Harris still needed to be formally chosen as the Democrats’ new presidential nominee.

The 60-year-old had a couple of potential challengers just after Mr Biden dropped out, but it never looked in doubt once former president Barack Obama endorsed her.

In the end, no challengers formally presented themselves ahead of the deadline, meaning Ms Harris was declared the Democratic candidate in early August.

In her first speech after accepting the nomination, she called for unity, saying this was “a chance to chart a new way forward”.

‘Kamala IS brat’

Yes, Ms Harris needed her party’s backing to become its nominee, but she also needed to get potential Democratic voters on her side, fast.

A branding opportunity seemingly fell right into her lap when British pop star Charli XCX endorsed her, writing in a post on X: “Kamala IS brat”.

Out of context, it sounds like a peculiar insult.

But Charli XCX had just released her smash hit album Brat, leading to a social media trend for something known as a “brat summer”.

Instead of its typical meaning – a badly behaved or ill-mannered child – the singer had helped redefine brat as a lifestyle “characterised by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude”.

Ms Harris and her campaign pounced on the trend, creating artwork for her HQ campaign account which mirrored that of the Brat album.

‘Childless cat ladies’

Now-infamous comments made by Mr Trump’s running mate JD Vance in 2021 resurfaced shortly after the brat endorsement.

Mr Vance, speaking to Fox News at the time, had said Ms Harris and other Democrats were “a bunch of childless cat ladies… miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made”.

“The entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children,” he said, despite the fact Ms Harris co-parents two stepchildren – Ella and Cole – with her husband Doug Emhoff.

Friends star Jennifer Aniston criticised Mr Vance’s remarks as she shared the clip on Instagram, writing in the caption: “I truly can’t believe this is coming from a potential VP of The United States.”

The Ohio senator said he stood by the sentiment but that his remarks weren’t a criticism of people who decide not to have children.

“This is not about criticising people who, for various reasons, didn’t have kids,” he said. “This is about criticising the Democratic Party for becoming anti-family and anti-child.”

The Harris campaign hit back at Mr Vance’s comments, saying “every single American has a stake in this country’s future”.

Trump questions Harris’s racial identity

In a move that drew gasps from the audience at a convention hosted by the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago, Mr Trump questioned the racial identity of Ms Harris, asking: “Is she Indian or is she black?”

He said: “I’ve known her a long time, indirectly not directly… and she was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage.

“I didn’t know she was black, until a number of years ago when she happened to turn black, and now she wants to be known as black, so I don’t know, is she Indian or is she black?”

Ms Harris is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, both immigrants to the US.

In response, Ms Harris said the comments were “the same old show” and that “America deserves better”.

‘That’s my dad!’

Minnesota governor Tim Walz was relatively unknown when Ms Harris picked him as her vice presidential running mate at the start of August.

But he truly made his mark with a landmark speech at the Democratic National Convention a couple of weeks later, telling his party’s faithful it was “time to turn the page” on Donald Trump.

It was the sort of speech you’d fully expect from a former American football coach like Mr Walz, as he urged his comrades to “leave it all out on the field” until election day.

There was seemingly no one more inspired by Mr Walz than his son Gus, who stood up midway through his speech and, through tears, proudly exclaimed: “That’s my dad!”

‘They’re eating the pets…’

You’d be forgiven for assuming cats would only play a key part in the election campaign once.

But the “childless cat lady” comments were in fact overshadowed by completely unsubstantiated claims repeated by Mr Trump and Mr Vance about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, eating residents’ household pets.

In a presidential debate between him and Ms Harris, Mr Trump said: “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats… They’re eating… they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.

“And this is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame.”

Ms Harris, who could be seen laughing and saying “this is unbelievable”, responded when it was her turn: “Talk about extreme.”

It was the headline-grabber in what has proved to be the only debate between the candidates, but they also clashed over issues including abortion, the economy and illegal immigration.

Read more:
An easy guide to the US election
Six ways the election could play out
What if there’s a tie?

Taylor Swift backs Harris

Almost straight after the debate, Taylor Swift told her 283 million Instagram followers she would be voting for Ms Harris.

The singer urged them to “do your research” – but said AI-generated images of her supporting Mr Trump made her realise “I need to be very transparent about my actual plans”.

The post was accompanied by a photo of the singer holding her cat Benjamin Button, and she signed off with “Taylor Swift – Childless Cat Lady”.

Mr Trump initially dismissed Swift’s endorsement of his rival for the presidency by simply saying he was “not a Taylor fan“.

But days later, as public opinion polls showed Ms Harris gaining significant ground on him, the former president took to his Truth Social media account to add: “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!”

‘Assassination attempt’ on Trump at golf course

A second apparent attempt on Mr Trump’s life was thwarted by the Secret Service on 15 September as the former president played golf at his course in West Palm Beach in Florida.

Ryan Routh was arrested after a rifle was seen poking through bushes near where Mr Trump was playing.

He had allegedly been staking out for around 12 hours before an agent spotted him and opened fire. He was detained less than an hour later, having fled the scene.

Mr Trump used the incident to demonstrate his resilience.

“Nothing will slow me down,” he wrote in a statement. “I will NEVER SURRENDER! I will always love you for supporting me.

“Unity. Peace. Make America Great Again. May God bless you.”

Routh was later charged with trying to assassinate Mr Trump.

Musk promises millions of dollars to swing state voters

Seven battleground states – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – are widely believed to be where the election will be won or lost.

As a result, well over a billion dollars is said to have been spent on presidential ads targeted at the more than 60 million people living in them.

Musk has thrown his wealth behind Mr Trump in a way that’s never been seen before: by promising to give away $1m (£772,000) each day until 5 November to registered voters in swing states.

All the voters have to do to become eligible is sign his online free speech and gun rights petition.

The first $1m was awarded to a man named John Dreher during a campaign event in Pennsylvania on 19 October.

The X owner was subsequently summoned to an emergency court hearing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, accused of operating an illegal lottery and trying to influence voters.

But the lawsuit has been placed on hold while a federal court considers whether to take up the case, meaning Musk is free to continue the giveaway.

Campaigning almost over – but more drama to come

The candidates will be trying to win over voters right up until voting closes on the evening of Tuesday 5 November.

From there, it’s anyone’s guess what happens next, with polls suggesting it’s going to be the tightest race in years.

There will be live coverage on Sky News throughout election night, led by chief presenter Mark Austin, world news presenter Yalda Hakim and US correspondent Mark Stone.

Fellow correspondents James Matthews and Martha Kelner will be reporting on the ground in the candidates’ home states of Florida and California as the results come in.

As it becomes clearer who will become the next president, chief presenter Anna Botting and presenter Gillian Joseph will join Austin, Stone and Hakim for both the build-up and aftermath of the election.

On the night, Sky News will have access to the most comprehensive exit poll and vote-counting results from every state, county and demographic across America through its US partner network NBC.

You can find out more about Sky News’ coverage here.