A political summer like no other — and the photographs that defined it

A few months ago, the presidential race seemed on a clear, if dreary, trajectory: a contest between two old and unpopular leaders — President Joe Biden, battling questions about his age and capacity while seeking a second term that would take him well into his 80s, versus former president Donald Trump, 78, a felon and someone who tried to subvert the results of the 2020 election. Many Americans, even if they knew how they would vote, were almost begging for different candidates.

Today, the presidential election has been turned upside down. Trump is now pitted against Vice President Kamala Harris, 19 years younger than he and the first Black and South Asian nominee for president. A summer of political turbulence has delivered a fall campaign almost no one believed possible earlier in the year. With Labor Day over, the traditional kickoff to the final sprint to Election Day begins, and the outcome remains uncertain.

The event that triggered the turbulence, the fateful June 27 CNN debate in Atlanta, seems almost a distant memory, given all that has happened since. In this brief summer Americans have weathered an assassination attempt against Trump; the surprising but almost inevitable decision by Biden to stand down under pressure; the selection of two relatively unknown politicians, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as the Republican and Democratic vice-presidential nominees; and finally a pair of political conventions that, though quite different in many ways, were both marked by unity, exuberance and a sense of confidence that November would bring the party victory.

What hasn’t changed is a country that remains deeply divided and uncertain about the future. How many more lifetimes will we go through before a winner is declared and the oath of office taken in January?

A damaging debate

The CNN-hosted debate in Atlanta ended soon after it began, at least in the conclusion of its impact on the race. Within minutes, Biden had stumbled badly. He looked unsteady walking onstage, mangled his words and then appeared to freeze in the middle of an answer, finally spitting out words that seem to come from nowhere and were without meaning: “We finally beat Medicare.”

His performance triggered immediate calls for him to end his candidacy. The calls came first from Biden-friendly columnists and newspapers like the New York Times. A few politicians joined in. Biden resisted, declaring defiantly that he would not quit the race, telling ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that only “the Lord Almighty” could convince him that he should get out.

Gunshots on a summer evening

As Republicans were starting to gather in Milwaukee on July 13 for their national convention, Trump traveled to Butler, Pa., for a rally on a sun-splashed Saturday afternoon. The audience had waited hours for him to appear but shortly after he began to speak, the sounds of gunfire erupted.

Trump flicked at his right ear. A bullet had come dangerously close to killing him. Secret Service agents quickly surrounded the wounded former president, putting him on the ground behind his lectern for safety. The bullets fired that day also left one man dead and two others critically wounded. The shooter was killed by Secret Service agents.

As Trump was quickly hustled down the steps to his motorcade, he stopped, raised his right fist and shouted to the audience: “Fight! Fight! Fight!” The image instantly became an iconic photo of a tragedy averted and a defiant former president exhorting his followers.

From Trump critic to running mate

The news on the first day of the Republican National Convention was Trump’s pick of a running mate. There were three finalists: Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), who had run against Trump for the Republican nomination in 2016; North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who had run against Trump for the 2024 nomination; and Vance, at the time a 39-year-old first-term senator from Ohio.

Vance was least experienced of the finalists and one with a checkered history regarding Trump. He wrote a best-selling book called “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis” and was once a sharp critic of Trump. Later, he made a 180-degree turn, defending Trump and articulating the Make America Great Again philosophy with rigor and precision that Trump often lacked. Vance was one of the youngest vice-presidential nominees in modern politics and, in a matter of weeks after his selection, one of the least popular. Vance came under criticism especially for past comments about women.

The RNC was a tribute to Trump

The RNC convention in Milwaukee was a lovefest for Republicans devoted to the former president and relieved that he had survived the assassination attempt. They also believed that, with Biden weakened after the debate, the election was Trump’s to lose. When the former president showed up on the opening night of the convention, his right ear carrying a large, square bandage, he was greeted by an emotional outpouring of affection and solidarity.

No other figure of note captured the delegates’ imaginations. The roster of speakers underscored that the convention was all about Trump. No former Republican presidents or nominees spoke. It was as if the history of the party had begun with Trump, evidence of the near-total makeover of the GOP that had taken place in the years after he was first elected. The convention’s first three nights offered tribute after tribute to the former president. Trump’s often-rambling, 90-minute acceptance speech was the only moment in which the otherwise successful convention went off track.

A Sunday shocker

It was supposed to be a quiet weekend in mid-July, as Republicans left Milwaukee and Americans looked to enjoy a respite from weeks of nonstop political activity. But the pressure on Biden was unrelenting. Despite his vows to stay in the race, the calls for him to step aside had intensified. Former House speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), former president Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (N.Y) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.). played different roles, some more direct than others, in their communications with Biden. But together, the Democrats had delivered messages that Biden could not ignore.

On July 21, Biden issued a statement that changed history. “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your president,” he said. “And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term.” Half an hour later, he issued another statement, endorsing his vice president to become the party’s nominee for president.

Nothing like this had ever happened so close to an election. For the proud Biden, it was a crushing end to his candidacy and his hopes to serve a second term. For demoralized Democrats, it was a burden lifted.

Harris seizes the Democratic nomination

Had Biden ended his candidacy earlier in the year, Democrats might have faced a competitive and potentially divisive contest for the nomination. Instead, it turned into an easy victory for Harris.

The vice president seized on Biden’s endorsement, calling multiple party leaders and elected officials seeking their endorsements that day, quickly shutting down the possibility of a challenge from any of several popular Democratic governors. By the next day, no one stood in her path. Her first days as a candidate saw a burst of energy and enthusiasm among Democrats, along with record amounts of money flowing into the campaign and tens of thousands of people volunteering to help.

The Democratic National Committee already had in place the mechanism to conduct a virtual roll call — a hedge against feared interference with ballot access in some states — and when the balloting began, Harris quickly secured the votes to cinch her nomination.

A fast-tracked process leads to Walz

If Vance was an unexpected pick as Trump’s running mate, Harris selecting Walz was at least as much of a surprise. He was barely on the speculative list when the guessing game began. Though the current chair of the Democratic Governors Association, he lacked the national identity of such governors as Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, California’s Gavin Newsom, Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro or Illinois’s JB Pritzker.

Selecting a running mate typically takes months. Harris had only a couple of weeks. As attention focused on the possible choices, Walz’s star began to ascend. His interview with Harris seemed to settle the matter — the chemistry obviously worked — and their cross-country campaign swing following his announcement reinforced the energy that the Biden-to-Harris switch had injected into the Democratic Party.

Passing the torch at the DNC

The Democratic convention in Chicago was the capstone to eight remarkable weeks in American politics. On the opening night, Democrats bid farewell to Biden. The president delivered a vigorous defense of his record, a sharp attack on Trump and then a passing of the torch to Harris. The evening was bittersweet for many in the United Center.

From there forward, jubilation was the sentiment that captured the proceedings. Speeches by Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey skewered Trump and boosted Harris. Delegates chanted “USA! USA!” and waved American flags as Democrats sought to take back symbols of patriotism sometimes ceded to Republicans in previous elections.

Walz, a former high school football coach, brought down the house with a pep talk that implored Democrats to “leave it on the field” and not rest until the election. Harris roused the delegates with an acceptance speech that called Trump “an unserious man” whose reelection would have “extremely serious” consequences. Only weeks after fearing the election was lost, Democrats left Chicago believing that they were back in the game.

Photo editing by Natalia Jiménez, Christine T. Nguyen and Thomas Simonetti. Text editing by Gina Harkins. Copy editing by Jeremy Hester.