There's growing debate about what the alleged assassination attempt on Donald Trump will do to a politically turbulent America.

Trump was hit in the ear by a bullet after a shooter opened fire at a Republican rally in Pennsylvania.

Presidential historian Allan Lichtman says the political violence may well have a silver lining, as it did after the shooting of Ronald Reagan in 1981.

"Instead of seeking revenge or attacking his political opponents, he formed a campaign for gun control - and for a while, it brought the country together."

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