The assassination attempt certainly helped, but it just solidified his ability to cast himself as a victim. That started with the politically-motivated prosecutions.

> Should the case have been brought to trial? That’s debatable, but he clearly is a felon.

I do not believe that the case would have been brought to trial had he not been Donald Trump, and that's a major problem. We can't have selective enforcement of the laws against political opponents.

I voted KH anyway because I think Trump really is a terrible person, but speaking from inside a deep red state: it's hard to overstate how much his conviction riled up his base and persuaded moderates to flip.