The first anniversary of Donald Trump's near-assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania, has served as a stark reminder of the lingering impact of that day when a gunman opened fire at a campaign rally, grazing the ear of the then-Republican presidential candidate, and killing one of his supporters in the crowd.
One year after coming millimetres from a very different outcome, Mr Trump is, according to friends and aides, still the same, but they see signs — beyond being on higher alert on stage — that his brush with death did change him in some ways.
"I think it's always in the back of his mind," said South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, a long-time friend who was in close touch with Mr Trump after the shooting, and joined him that night in New Jersey after he was treated at a Pennsylvania hospital.
"He's still a rough and tumble guy, you know. He hasn't become a Zen Buddhist. But I think he is, I'll say this, more appreciative. He's more attentive to his friends," he said, pointing to Mr Trump sending him a message on his birthday earlier this week.
Senator Graham added: "It's just a miracle he's not dead. He definitely was a man who believed he had a second lease on life."
The attack dramatically up-ended the 2024 campaign and launched a frenzied 10-day stretch that included Mr Trump's triumphant arrival at the Republican National Convention with a bandaged ear, with then-US president Joe Biden's decision to abandon his re-election bid, and the elevation of then-vice president Kamala Harris as his successor.
Constant reminders
While many who survive traumatic events try to block them from memory, Mr Trump has instead surrounded himself with memorabilia commemorating one of the darkest episodes in modern political history.
He's decorated the White House and his golf clubs with art pieces depicting the moment after the shooting when he stood up, thrust his fist dramatically in the air and chanted: "Fight, fight, fight!"
A painting of the scene now hangs prominently in the foyer of the White House State Floor near the staircase to the president's residence. Earlier this year, he began displaying a bronze sculpture of the tableau in the Oval Office on a side table next to the Resolute Desk.
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And while he said in his speech at the Republican convention that he would only talk about what had happened once, he often shares the story of how he turned his head at just the right moment to show off his "all-time favourite chart in history" of southern border crossings, that he credits for saving his life.
During a press conference in the White House briefing room last month, he acknowledged lingering physical effects from the shooting.
"I get that throbbing feeling every once in a while," he said, gesturing to his ear. "But you know what, that's OK. This is a dangerous business. What I do is a dangerous business."
The president reflected on the shooting in an interview on Fox News with his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, earlier this week.
"Well it was unforgettable. I didn't know exactly what was going on. I got whacked, there's no question about that," he told Fox News.
"Our sniper, within less than five seconds was able to get in from a long distance with one shot.
"If he didn't do that, you would've had an even worse situation, it was really bad. His name is David, he did a fantastic job. He just went about his business. Less than about four seconds, and that's when it all stopped and he got him perfectly from a long distance, we got a little bit lucky in that regard," Mr Trump said.
Shooter's motive remains unclear
A year on from the assassination attempt and authorities say the shooter's motive remains unclear.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was identified by the FBI as the person behind the attack that injured Mr Trump and killed a 50-year-old volunteer firefighter.
Mr Crooks shot Mr Trump from the rooftop of a nearby building and was killed by Secret Service snipers shortly after he opened fire.
Authorities said they have not found any kind of manifesto or motivation for the attack.
Mr Crooks was a registered Republican and the 2024 election would've been the first time he was old enough to vote in a presidential election.
He was a resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, about an hour away from where the rally was held.
The FBI had to analyse Crooks's DNA because he did not have any form of identification on him during the attack.
Trump spared for a reason
Mr Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, who as his then-campaign chief was with him at the rally, said in a podcast interview that he walked away from the shooting believing he had been spared for a reason.
"I would say, I think he believes that he was saved. I do. And he would never — even if he thought it before, I don't think he would have admitted it. And he will now," she told Pod Force One.
As a result, she said, when Mr Trump says things that "are perfunctory — every president says 'God bless America' — well, it's more profound with him now, and it's more personal".
She also credited the attack with helping change public perceptions of Mr Trump during the campaign.
"For the American public to see a person who was such a fighter as he was that day, I think, as awful and tragic as it might have been, it turned out to be something that showed people his character. And that's helpful," she said.
Roger Stone, a long-time friend and informal adviser, noted that Mr Trump has had other brushes with death, including a last-minute decision not to board a helicopter to Atlantic City that crashed in 1989, and another near-assassination two months after Butler when US Secret Service agents spotted a man pointing a rifle through the fence near where Mr Trump was golfing.
Mr Stone said he's found the president "to be more serene and more determined after the attempt on his life" in Butler.
"He told me directly that he believed he was spared by God for the purpose of restoring the nation to greatness, and that he believes deeply that he is protected now by the Lord," he said.
Ralph Reed, chair of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, agreed.
"I think for people who know the president, it is commonly believed that it changed him. I mean, how could it not? Imagine if you were who he was, and if you don't turn your head at that instant," he said. "He knew he was lucky to be alive."
Given how close Mr Trump came to a very different outcome, Mr Reed said, "it's hard not to feel on some level that the hand of providence protected him for some greater purpose. And there are people that I've talked to who said they were confident that he would win for that reason. That there must have been a reason".
Mr Trump will spend the anniversary of the assassination attempt, attending the FIFA Club World Cup soccer final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
ABC/AP
