July was a month of twist and turns, of vacillations and vicissitudes. President Biden, previously steadfast in his commitment to continue the fight for a second term in office, eventually succumbed to warnings of his own cognitive decline and bowed to overwhelming Democrat pressure to pave the way for VP Kamala Harris. She is now the presumptive nominee with the full support of President Biden, the Obamas, the Clintons, and the rest of the Democratic KaloiKagathoi.

Meanwhile, the Republicans faced the very real prospect of losing their MAGA hero, Former President Donald Trump, who, some claim by an act of God, others by sheer good fortune, narrowly avoided death as a bullet whistled past his ear in an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Trump swiftly capitalised on the opportunity to demonstrate macho warrior resilience, with images circulated worldwide of his blood-spattered jowls in that air-punching photograph providing a boost in the polls. Temporarily, all parties united in a just repudiation of political violence, reminiscent of JFK’s assassination in 1963.

But now the Harris campaign kicks into gear, with her team reporting $310 million in donations this month – more than double that of Trump’s  $139mn. This will leverage key advertising campaigns in the closely fought battleground states that determine US elections: Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Michigan, Florida.

While the Harris campaign has focussed on rights issues such as abortion, mitigating gun violence, and the economy, Trump has resorted to questioning her racial heritage asking, “is she ‘black or Indian?” – a worrying trend that playground insults such as ‘lyin Kamala Harris’ and ‘evil Kamala Harris’ have morphed into this.

Now Kamala Harris must choose her running mate before the Democratic National Convention on 19 August in Chicago. Favourites include: Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, Arizona senator Mark Kelly, Kentucky governor Andy Beshear, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.