WASHINGTON, Sept 16, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Kamala Harris and Donald Trump head into a newly intense phase of the US presidential campaign on Monday, with tensions heightened after a second apparent assassination attempt against the Republican former president.

The arrest on Sunday of a gunman on Donald Trump's Florida golf course came the same day as more bomb threats poured into Springfield, Ohio, a small Midwestern city at the center of Republican-led conspiracies against immigrants.

But the dueling campaigns are set to march on with little interruption, a day after the Secret Service confirmed one or more of its agents "opened fire on a gunman" located near the boundary of Trump's Florida golf course and that an "AK-47 style rifle" with a scope was recovered along with a GoPro video camera.

The FBI said it was "investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump."

US media identified the suspect as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, who has expressed support for Ukraine and has a lengthy arrest record.

Authorities said they had not identified a specific motive or political ideology for the shooter behind the previous bid on Trump's life at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

Trump was wounded in the ear in that July 13 shooting.

Authorities said on Sunday it wasn't clear whether a gunman actually fired a weapon in the direction of the former president before being engaged by the Secret Service.

Harris and President Joe Biden both denounced the attack on Trump, with Biden saying: "There is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country."

Tech billionaire Trump supporter Elon Musk faced criticism after he posted, and then deleted, on his social media platform X a question asking why no one had tried to kill Biden or Harris, US media reported.

Vice President Harris, the Democratic nominee who will face ex-president Trump at the polls on November 5, said in a statement on Sunday she was "disturbed by the possible assassination attempt" and "thankful that former president Trump is safe."

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer were among world leaders to condemn the apparent attempt on Trump's life.

For its part, the Kremlin said it was a sign that the US election campaign was "intensifying."

- Bomb threats -

The same day as the apparent assassination attempt, Clark State College in Springfield announced it would hold classes virtually this week after receiving bomb and shooting threats at the weekend.

It was the fourth consecutive day of threats of bombings and other violence that have targeted the local city hall, public schools and nearby college Wittenberg University, following racist rumors about local Haitian immigrants pushed by Republicans including Trump.

What started as municipal growing pains in a rapidly expanding city have morphed into allegations of an "invasion" by "illegal" Haitian newcomers, baselessly accused of stealing and eating people's pets and causing a crime wave.

Threats have since hit hospitals, schools and municipal buildings.
Some Haitians living in the city have told AFP they are scared for their lives.

- 'Hate' for Taylor Swift -

Adding to the country's acrimonious political atmosphere, Trump posted on his Truth Social website that "I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!"

The superstar singer/songwriter posted a message on Instagram after Tuesday's debate saying she would be voting for Harris, calling her a "steady-handed, gifted leader."

Celebrity endorsements rarely carry enormous weight but the hugely popular Swift is seen as being in a class of her own, with more than 400 million followers on Instagram, TikTok and other social media platforms -- 10 million of whom "liked" her Instagram post.

It was not clear what Trump hoped to gain by attacking Swift, although he may calculate that any publicity is better than none.

He has been criticized, even by fellow Republicans, for his recent association with conspiracy-minded right-wing influencer Laura Loomer, who has at times joined him on his campaign plane.

The 31-year-old Loomer has called the September 11, 2001, terror attacks an "inside job" and said some of the country's recent mass shootings were staged by Democrats. She also recently suggested that Swift had entered an "arranged relationship" with football star Travis Kelce "to influence the 2024 election."

There is no evidence to support any of those claims.

The race between Trump and Harris remains tight across the battleground states that will decide the election.