The summer of 2024 will go down in American history as one filled with unexpected political twists and turns. So what happened?

It all started on June 27th, when former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden met in Atlanta for a debate, a critical moment in their rematch.

Biden’s poor performance, filled with stumbles and awkward pauses, alarmed Democrats, raising doubts about whether he could beat Trump in November.

But Biden and his team said it was one bad night and insisted he was pressing forward with his campaign.

Then, on July 13, a would-be assassin in Butler, Pennsylvania opened fire on Trump at a campaign rally, striking his ear and killing a man in the crowd.

The assassination attempt stunned the nation and brought back into focus the threats of political violence.

Two days after the assassination attempt, the Republican National Convention began in Milwaukee.

While accepting the nomination for president, Trump spoke about that day in Pennsylvania.

On July 21, under mounting pressure from Democrats, Biden announced he was ending his bid for reelection.

Biden threw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris to take on Trump, igniting a resurgence of energy in the Democratic party.

Harris then headed to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where she accepted the party’s nomination for president.

Get complete election coverage from the newsroom of The Washington Times.