The 2024 United States presidential election has become one of the most intense and unpredictable campaigns in recent history. In a context of political turbulence and social divisions, the elections produced unprecedented events that made headlines not only in the United States but around the world.

Voters across the United States will vote for the next president on November 5, 2024.

The race is between Donald Trump, the embattled former president seeking to return to power, and Kamala Harris, who aspires to break barriers and become the first woman to hold the country’s highest office.

Below we take a look at some of the key moments from the US presidential election campaign:

Trump, a convicted felon

On May 30, Donald Trump became the first former US president to be convicted of serious crimes after a New York jury found him guilty of all 34 counts related to a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a payment to keep his silence on porn actor Stormy Daniel. , who shared excruciating details about their alleged sexual encounter.

The charges against Trump are punishable by up to four years in prison. For his part, he denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty. He also claimed that it was an attempt to stop him.

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“This was a shame,” he had shouted outside the court that day. “This was a trial rigged by a conflicted judge who was corrupt.”

The night of the Joe Biden debate

In a significant moment that dashed the hopes of many Democrats, US President Joe Biden, the party’s presumptive nominee, had a disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump on June 27.

The 81-year-old was seen fumbling and often seemed to forget what he was saying, raising fears that he was unfit to run for president again.

Biden ignored the debate and criticism and later said it was just a “bad night.” However, questions about Biden’s physical condition and his chances of beating Trump began to loom much more seriously.

Attempt on Trump’s life

On July 13, one of the most shocking moments in US presidential history occurred after a lone gunman shot Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

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As Trump was giving his speech, a pop was heard, followed by Trump touching his ear and realizing there was blood on it. Within seconds, he fell to the stage and was surrounded by Secret Service agents.

He was helped to his feet and escorted off the stage, even as he raised his fist and shouted “fight, fight, fight,” one of the most iconic images in American political history.

The gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was shot and killed by the Secret Service. Trump, who survived with a minor scratch on his right ear, later said, “I took a bullet for democracy.”

Joe Biden retires, Kamala Harris steps forward

Almost a month after his disastrous debate with Donald Trump and intense concerns about his ability to defeat the Republican candidate, US President Joe Biden announced on July 21 that he was abandoning the presidential campaign.

In a post on X, he said he will remain president until his term ends in January 2025.

In another post, he endorsed Kamala Harris, the first Black and Asian-American woman to serve as vice president of the United States, as the Democratic candidate. Within two weeks, Harris formally secured the Democratic nomination, making her the first woman of color to top a major party ticket.

Another possible attack on Trump’s life

The possible shooting was foiled after a member of Trump’s Secret Service protection team saw a man’s face partially obscured and the barrel of a rifle protruding near the fence of the golf course in Florida where he was scheduled to that Donald Trump played.

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The officer fired shots in the direction of the man, identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, who sped away and was detained by police in a neighboring county. Routh was reportedly loaded, with 10 rounds in the magazine, and is believed to have camped at the location for more than 12 hours.

Prosecutors have said he had written about his plans to kill Trump in a handwritten note months before his arrest on September 15 in which he referred to his actions as a failed “attempted assassination of Donald Trump” and offered $150,000 to anyone who could “finish the job.”