Political pundits must be having a field day observing the amazing twists and turns in the rather embittered United States presidential election campaign, with 49 days still to go to the end of voting on November 5, 2024.

A second alleged attempt Sunday on the life of the Republican candidate and former President Mr Donald Trump might be the clearest indication yet of how high the stakes are in this race, or of how off-the-rails some Americans have gone.

Readers will recall that on June 13 this year Mr Trump survived what was reported as the first assassination attempt in which it was said that a bullet nicked him on the ear but in which he suffered no other physical damage. The alleged assassin, a registered Republican, was killed by Secret Service agents.

On Sunday, no shots were fired at Mr Trump but an armed 58-year-old man’s cellphone data suggested that he was in the woods near Mr Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, for nearly 12 hours before being seen by a Secret Service agent, who opened fire.

The man, identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, was not shot, but was later caught and now faces two federal gun charges — possessing a firearm as a felon and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

The Associated Press quoted the man as saying to Iran, in a self-published 2023 book titled Ukraine’s Unwinnable War: “You are free to assassinate Trump,” whom he described as a “fool” and “buffoon” for both the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots and the “tremendous blunder” of leaving the Iran nuclear deal. He wrote that he once voted for Mr Trump and must share the blame for the “child that we elected for our next president that ended up being brainless”.

Mr Trump immediately blamed Democratic rhetoric against him for the apparent assassination attempt, and began to fund-raise off it.

Before Sunday’s incident the election campaign was already turbulent. The sitting president, Mr Joe Biden, dropped out of the re-election race, handing over to his Vice-President Mrs Kamala Harris, who has overtaken Mr Trump in the polls, even if just barely. She stands a chance of becoming the first black woman and South Asian American president.

At the same time, the Republican nominee, the 45th president of the US, is a convicted felon who is facing multiple criminal charges over his unprecedented attempt to stay in power after losing the 2020 election. If Mr Trump wins in 2024 he would be only the second president who lost re-election to win a non-consecutive second term.

In the wake of a loss in his debate with Mrs Harris last Tuesday, Mr Trump and his supporters have been pushing conspiracy theories that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, have been eating people’s pet dogs and cats, leading to threats on their lives, despite the claims being debunked by Ohio Republican authorities.

Then, Mr Trump has been going around with a far-right activist, Ms Laura Loomer, who caused outrage when she said the White House “will smell like curry and White House speeches will be facilitated via a call centre”, a racist dig at Mrs Harris, who is half Indian.

With less than two months to go, many pundits are bracing for the election campaign to descend into further chaos, especially given the razor-thin margins separating the candidates in the polls. We hope they are proven wrong.