Poll shows early boost for Kamala Harris in wake of presidential debate… but could second ‘assassination attempt’ on Donald Trump lead to another dramatic change in the race?

Kamala Harris held a five-point lead over Donald Trump in the first national poll after Tuesday’s presidential debate.

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, the vice president has widened her lead from 42 percent to 47 percent.

However, a second suspected assassination attempt on Trump in just two months raises questions about whether this will lead to another dramatic change in the race.

Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was arrested Sunday after a Secret Service agent spotted a gun in the bushes near Trump International Golf Club at Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach.

The shooter was found approximately 300-500 yards from the Republican presidential candidate, who was golfing between holes five and six.

The news comes just two months after Trump was hit near the ear by a bullet during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The former president emerged bloodied but still combative after Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire, killing one of those present.

At the time, the Republican presidential candidate had a lead over Joe Biden in the polls and many thought after the attack that the White House would now be his.

Anthony Scaramucci, Trump’s short-term communications director, said last week on The Rest is Politics US podcast: ‘We sat there in July and we looked at each other and we said, this is going to change the election.

“That picture of him will take him to the presidency.”

However, the shocking event had virtually no impact on the polls and some polls suggest that Harris is currently in an excellent position to become the next president of the United States.

Still, Trump’s campaign has used Sunday’s suspected assassination attempt to drum up more support.

In an email to his followers, he wrote: “Nothing will stop me. I will NEVER GIVE UP,” and in a separate message he asked for more money for his campaign.

The alleged shooter, identified as registered Democrat Ryan Wesley Rout, 58, was found unarmed, while a backpack, a GoPro camera and an AK-47-style rifle he had left behind were found at the crime scene.

Vice President Kamal Harris said she was relieved that no one was injured in the alleged assassination attempt.

“I have been made aware of reports of gunfire near former President Trump and his property in Florida and am glad he is safe,” she wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“Violence has no place in America.”

The White House also released a statement saying both President Joe Biden and Harris were aware of the security incident.

The White House said the president and vice president have been briefed on the security incident at the Trump International Golf Course, where former President Trump was playing golf.

“They are relieved that he is safe. They are being updated regularly by their team.”

According to a New York Times poll, Vice President Harris currently holds a three percentage point lead over Trump nationwide.

The battle is even tighter in key states where the outcome is still uncertain, where neither candidate has enough states to win 270 electoral votes, even a one percentage point lead.

This comes after Harris was widely seen as the winner of last week’s heated televised debate, in which the Republican presidential candidate accused migrants of eating pets and said Democrats “want to execute babies in their ninth month of pregnancy.”

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, 53 percent of voters who said they had heard at least something about Tuesday’s debate said Harris won and 24 percent said Trump won.

Harris is currently doing well in Wisconsin, Iowa, Virginia, North Carolina and even Alaska.

In contrast, recent polls show Trump doing well in Georgia and Michigan.