Republican Donald Trump has ruled out running again in the United States’ 2028 presidential election if he loses in the upcoming November poll, according to an interview aired on Sunday.

Responding to a question on whether he would run again if he lost, the 78-year-old former president told US news program “Full Measure”: “No, I don’t. I think that that will be, that will be it. I don’t see that at all.”

The billionaire did, however, say he hoped to be “successful” at the ballot box on voting day on November 5.

Trump is currently neck-and-neck with Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris, including in the key battleground states that often decide close US elections.

The Democratic Party has seen a resurgence in support after the withdrawal of President Joe Biden as its candidate in July, following a disastrous debate against Trump.

Trump lost to Biden in 2020 but refused to accept he was defeated, riling supporters by saying the election was “stolen” and fueling conspiracy theories.

On January 6, 2021, fervent Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol in an attempt, spurred by his allegations, to stop the certification of the election result.

The Republican has notably refused several times in recent months to commit to unconditionally recognizing the result of the upcoming election.

Donald Trump was the target of an apparent assassination attempt Sunday in Florida, the FBI said, with the Republican presidential candidate’s campaign and law enforcement reporting he was safe and unharmed.

The US Secret Service confirmed one or more of its agents “opened fire on a gunman” located near the boundary of Trump’s golf course, and that an “AK-47 style rifle” with a scope was recovered along with a GoPro video camera.

Amid the confrontation with the Secret Service, the suspect bolted out of the shrubbery he had been hiding in and escaped in a black car. A witness helped police identify the vehicle and authorities tracked it down.

“We have somebody in custody right now that is a potential suspect,” Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw told a news conference.

US media named the suspect as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, who had expressed support for Ukraine. He was interviewed by AFP in 2022 in Kyiv where he had travelled to support the war effort.

Trump had been playing golf at his course in West Palm Beach, Florida, not far from his Mar-a-Lago residence, when the would-be shooter was spotted in bushes one hole ahead of the former president, Bradshaw said.

“President Trump is safe following gunshots in his vicinity,” his campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement, while Democratic presidential hopeful Kamala Harris expressed relief her political rival was out of danger.

Trump himself said in a website fundraising message: “Fear not! I am safe and well, and no one was hurt. Thank God!”

He later thanked the Secret Service, Sheriff Bradshaw and law enforcement for “the incredible job done today” in keeping him safe.

“I would like to thank everyone for your concern and well wishes — It was certainly an interesting day!,” Trump posted late Sunday on his Truth Social platform.

The unnerving incident appears to mark the second time in as many months that Trump has been the target of an assassination attempt. The former president was wounded in the ear on July 13 as he addressed an outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

– Unsure if shot taken –

Authorities who addressed Sunday’s news conference did not confirm whether a gunman actually fired a weapon in the direction of the former president, but said shots were fired by the Secret Service.

“We are not sure right now if the individual was able to take a shot at our agents,” said Rafael Barros, of the Secret Service.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it is “investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump.”

Officials praised the quick action of the Secret Service, an agency that has been under intense scrutiny since its apparent failure to detect and stop a gunman from shooting at Trump in Pennsylvania.

Sheriff Bradshaw said Secret Service personnel in Trump’s protective detail spotted “this rifle barrel sticking out of the fence and immediately engaged that individual, at which time the individual took off.”

He estimated the suspect was set up 300 to 500 yards (275 to 455 meters) away, but “with a rifle and a scope like that, that’s not a long distance.”

– ‘Relieved’ –

The incident came amid heightened tensions in the knife-edge presidential race, and concern for the safety of both candidates.

“There is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.

“I have directed my team to continue to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former president’s continued safety.”

Vice President Harris took to social media to say: “I am glad he is safe.”

Several Trump supporters and members of his inner circle, including his running mate J.D. Vance, offered their support and gratitude that tragedy was avoided.

“I’m glad President Trump is safe,” Vance said on X. “I spoke to him before the news was public and he was, amazingly, in good spirits.”

The Secret Service, tasked with protecting presidents, former presidents and other dignitaries, has faced criticism since the Pennsylvania shooting.

Kimberly Cheatle, the head of the agency, resigned amid the ensuing scrutiny, and at least five agents were placed on administrative leave.

Representative Elise Stefanik, the fourth-ranking US House Republican, thanked law enforcement for their actions Sunday but raised questions about the latest incident.

“We must ask ourselves how an assassin was allowed to get this close to President Trump again,” she said in a statement.

“There continues to be a lack of answers for the horrific assassination attempt in Pennsylvania and we expect there to be a clear explanation of what happened today in Florida.”

The post came as a surprise, even from the provocative Donald Trump: “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” the former president said Sunday.

Though the all-caps post on his Truth Social website came without accompanying commentary or explanation, the context was clear.

On Tuesday, just minutes after a debate with Vice President Kamala Harris that Republican Trump was widely seen as losing, the superstar singer/songwriter posted a message on Instagram saying she would be voting for his Democratic rival, calling Harris 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.

“Going after Taylor Swift is a genuinely bad campaign strategy,” said one poster on social media platform X. “Taylor doesn’t get mad, she gets even.”

It was not clear what Trump hoped to gain by attacking Swift, though 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 — who has called the Sept. 11 terror attacks an “inside job” and said some recent mass shootings were staged by Democrats — 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.

Congressional Republicans lodged a formal case Monday for the impeachment of US President Joe Biden, using the opening day of the Democratic National Convention to launch a political assault unlikely to gain serious traction.

The report from three powerful committees in the Republican-led House of Representatives accuses Biden of corruption linked to his son Hunter’s foreign business affairs.

Jim Jordan, head of the Judiciary Committee, said the probe showed “conclusively” that Biden had “abused his public office for the private financial benefit of the Biden family and Biden business associates.”

“President Biden’s legacy is marked by abuse of public office, corruption and obstruction. The evidence produced by our impeachment inquiry is the strongest case for impeachment of a sitting president the House of Representatives has ever investigated,” said James Comer, head of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

However, there is no proof that Biden ever used his office to benefit his son or was involved in Hunter’s businesses. There was no smoking gun in a document built around inferences and innuendo about connections between father and son.

Biden — set to deliver a swan song speech at the Democratic convention and pass the political torch to his vice president Kamala Harris — has repeatedly denied helping his son’s business ventures, including in Ukraine and China.

Republicans have for years used Hunter Biden’s foreign links and chaotic personal life as a recovering drug addict to try and embarrass the president.

However, marathon attempts to build an impeachment case against Biden — seen by many as a bid for revenge over the two impeachments of Republican Donald Trump when he was president — have never come close to an actual vote by the House.

Republicans hold only a razor-thin majority and would likely fail to remain unanimous on impeaching Biden, risking severe embarrassment.

An airplane carrying 57 passengers and four crew crashed Friday in Brazil’s Sao Paulo state, killing everyone on board, the airline said.

The aircraft, an ATR 72-500 operated by Voepass airline, was traveling from Cascavel in southern Parana state to Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport when it crashed in the city of Vinhedo.

Voepass initially said the plane was carrying 58 passengers, but a statement on the airline’s website later revised the figure to 57.

Images broadcast on local media showed a large plane spinning as it plummeted almost vertically, while other footage showed a large column of smoke rising from the crash site in what appeared to be a residential area.

“There were no survivors,” the city government in Valinhos — which was involved in the rescue and recovery operation in nearby Vinhedo — said in an to AFP.

Vinhedo, with about 76,000 residents, is located approximately 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Sao Paulo.

Recovery of the victims’ remains for “identification” has begun and “will continue throughout the night,” Sao Paulo State Governor Tarcisio de Freitas told reporters at the scene.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva declared three days of mourning.

Voepass said it was cooperating with authorities to “determine the causes of the accident,” while giving full assistance to families of the victims on flight 2283.

The plane, a twin-engine turboprop, took off “without any flight restrictions, with all its systems operational,” the company said.

Brazil’s CENIPA aviation accident agency has launched an investigation.

ATR, a Franco-Italian aircraft maker and Airbus subsidiary said its experts were working to help investigators.

– ‘Terrifying’ –

Truck driver Martins Barbosa, 49, was working when he learned of the plane crash, which occurred 150 meters (500 feet) from his home.

“I thought it might have fallen on my house, with my son inside,” he told AFP, adding he felt despondent before learning his family was okay.

Nathalie Cicari, who lives near the crash site, told CNN Brasil the impact was “terrifying.”

“I was having lunch, I heard a very loud noise very close by,” she said, describing the sound as drone-like but “much louder.”

“I went out on the balcony and saw the plane spinning. Within seconds, I realized that it was not a normal movement for a plane.”

Cicari was not hurt but had to evacuate her house, which was filled with black smoke from the crash.

“I arrived at the scene and saw many bodies on the ground — many of them,” another witness, Ricardo Rodrigues, told local Band News.

Firefighters, military police and state civil defense were deployed at the scene.

Military police told local media the accident had not caused any casualties on the ground, and that the fire sparked by the crash had been brought under control.

The plane’s black box “has already been found, apparently preserved,” Sao Paulo state security official Guilherme Derrite told reporters at the scene.

The doomed plane recorded its first flight in April 2010, according to the website planespotters.net.

Air safety has improved dramatically in recent decades, with deadly passenger plane crashes becoming ever-more rare worldwide, though more frequent in developing nations.

Excluding Friday’s crash, CENIPA data shows Brazil has recorded 108 aircraft accidents so far this year, resulting in 49 deaths. Over the last ten years, 746 people have died in 1,665 accidents in the country.

In January 2023, another ATR 72 operated by Yeti Airlines crashed after stalling in Nepal, killing all 72 on board.

Nepalese authorities attributed the incident to pilot error.

Kamala Harris picked Tim Walz as her running mate Tuesday, opting for the Minnesota governor as the partner most likely to complement her in a historic — and bruising — bid for the White House.

Walz had been on a shortlist with a string of other Democratic figures seen as broadening Harris’s appeal as she sprints into the contest against Donald Trump.

Aiming to make history as the first woman president, Harris — already a trailblazer as the first female and first Black and South Asian vice president — has little time before Election Day on November 5.

The choice was first reported by CNN early Tuesday morning.

Expectations had always been that Harris would pick a white man to balance the ticket — and the kind of Democrat who can help counter attacks from Republicans that she is too far to the left.

Walz fits that description as a 60-year-old Midwesterner with a folksy manner from a state that could be light years from the coastal elites of California, where Harris comes from, or the East Coast.

He will also appeal to progressives after having championed popular Democratic policies including cannabis legalisation and increasing worker protections.

The duo will hit the campaign trail immediately, launching an intense, five-day swing through battleground states starting Tuesday in the biggest prize, Pennsylvania.

Fresh from securing the official Democratic nomination overnight, Harris can now head to the national convention in Chicago in two weeks in total control of her party.

It has been a remarkable journey for Harris, who only entered the race last month when President Joe Biden withdrew, bowing to mounting concerns over his mental acuity and ability at 81 to serve a second term.

In a campaign that is barely two weeks old, the 59-year-old former prosecutor has obliterated fundraising records, attracted huge crowds and dominated social media on her way to erasing what had been Trump’s growing lead in polls over Biden.

The latest presidential poll by the University of Massachusetts Amherst released Monday has Harris leading Trump nationally by three points — 46 percent to 43 percent — compared to a four-point lead for Trump over Biden in January.

– First major test –

In the swing states that decide the Electoral College contest in US elections, Harris is neck and neck with Trump, who shocked the world with his 2016 presidential victory but was beaten by Biden in 2020.

Picking a vice presidential running mate was seen as the first big test for Harris in her bid to become the country’s chief executive.

“It tells you about her thought process,” Amy Walter, a polling expert from Cook Political Report newsletter, told CBS News.

Now, Harris and Walz will face the first test of their ground game as they make the nationwide swing this week from Philadelphia to Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada. Tropical Storm Debby has forced the postponement of a stop in another swing state, Georgia, and according to media reports also North Carolina.

Pennsylvania is part of the “blue wall” that carried Biden to the White House in 2020, alongside Michigan and Wisconsin. That was one of the main reasons many expected Harris to instead pick that state’s governor, Josh Shapiro.

Also on the vice presidential shortlist had been former astronaut and current senator Mark Kelly, of Arizona, and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear.

Trump was riding high politically last month after surviving an assassination attempt at a rally, and then using the Republican convention to highlight his image of vigor against the physically frail Biden.

But with Biden’s dramatic exit and Harris’s fast start, he is scrambling to recalibrate.

At a rally last Saturday in Georgia, Trump called Harris a “Marxist” and a “radical left freak,” claiming she would cause an “economic crash.”

Three days earlier, he shocked many when he told an audience of Black journalists that Harris had “turned Black” out of political expediency.

Where Biden often attacked Trump as a threat to democracy, given his unprecedented refusal to accept his loss in 2020, Harris’s team has honed a sharper — more meme-friendly — line built around branding Trump and his vice presidential pick J.D. Vance “weird.”

On Saturday, the Harris campaign said Trump was “scared” to debate her after he turned down a previously scheduled televised debate on ABC, while saying he’d be ready to debate her on Fox News — a network that has for years given him support.