Donald Trump on a roll: Is the general election over before it begins?
MILWAUKEE ? Is the election over?
A disastrous debate for Joe Biden in Atlanta. A miraculous survival by Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. A stunning court decision in Fort Pierce, Florida.
A cascade of developments in the run-up to the Republican National Convention has left Republicans increasingly confident of winning in November and Democrats increasingly disheartened ? even before either political party has formally nominated their candidates and launched the general election.
To be sure, there are still more than 100 days until Election Day, time for more twists in a campaign already marked by turmoil.
But the latest string of developments, none of them connected or expected, could prove to be especially consequential because they go to fundamentals that define the rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
The first debate reinforces Biden's biggest vulnerability
Team Biden accepted last month's televised debate on CNN to reset the president's campaign. Instead, it undermined it by focusing a 90-minute spotlight on his age, his difficulties in finishing a sentence, his failure to effectively counter Trump's bombastic and often inaccurate statements.
The alarm that followed fueled a last-ditch effort by Democratic leaders worried about an election catastrophe to push Biden, in public and in private, to step aside from the nomination in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris or some other Democrat from the next generation.
Biden, 81, has sharply resisted the idea, leaving Democrats in the worst possible situation: Some members of Congress and major donors are now on the record raising questions about his mental acuity and electability. But since it's all but impossible to replace him without his assent, he is poised to be the party's nominee anyway.
The aftermath of the shooting in Pennsylvania may soften Trump's sharp edges
The horrific, heroic image of Trump pumping his fist and shouting "Fight! Fight!" after being bloodied by a would-be assassin's bullet was instantly iconic.
Since then, Trump said the need for national unity has persuaded him to throw away a "humdinger" of a convention acceptance speech in favor of more conciliatory language. A softer, gentler Trump, perhaps.
If he does that, and can sustain the new tone, he could bolster his appeal to swing voters, including suburbanites and women, who have been put off by the rage that has marked much of his past rhetoric.
The court ruling in Florida helps Trump deal with his biggest new problem
Trump's criminal conviction in a New York court in a hush-money trial this spring was historic, and not in a good way for him. He became the first major-party presidential candidate who is a felon, a status that a significant number of voters said would give them second thoughts about voting for him.
The decision in federal court Monday to throw out the pending case against him on charges of mishandling classified documents isn't related to the New York conviction. But the ruling fits the talking points he uses to dismiss his legal problems generally: He is the victim of politically motivated prosecutions that can't stand up to fair-minded scrutiny.
Judge Aileen Cannon, who Trump appointed to the bench, said the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith violated the Constitution because he hadn't been appointed by the president or confirmed by the Senate.
That's a novel analysis, and sure to be appealed ? but not in time for Election Day.
Which is approaching fast.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump has a series of wins. Is the election over before it has begun?
