Poll shows early boost for Kamala Harris in wake of presidential debate... but could second 'assassination attempt' on Donald Trump lead to another dramatic change in the race?

Kamala Harris took a five-point lead over Donald Trump in the first nationwide poll taken after the presidential debate last Tuesday. 

The vice president increased her advantage from 42 percent to 47 percent according to a Reuters/Ipsos survey. 

However, a second suspected assassination attempt on Trump in just two months has sparked questions over whether this will lead to another dramatic change in the race. 

Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was arrested on Sunday after a Secret Service agent spotted a rifle in the bushes at Trump International Golf Club in Mar-a-Lago, West Palm Beach.

The shooter was found about 300-500 yards from the Republican presidential candidate who was playing golf between holes five and six.

It comes after just two months after a bullet grazed Trump's ear in an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The former president emerged bloodied but still belligerent after Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire, killing one member at the crowd.

At this point, the Republican presidential nominee was leading Joe Biden in the polls and many thought after the attack that the White House would now be his.

Trump's short-lived Director of Communications Anthony Scaramucci told The Rest is Politics US podcast last week: 'We sat there in July, looked at each other and said, this is going to change the election.

'That picture of him is going to ascend him to the presidency.'

However, the shocking event had virtually no impact on polling and now some polls suggest Harris is currently sitting in prime position to become the next president of the United States. 

Nevertheless, Trump's campaign has used the suspected assassination attempt on Sunday as a means to call for more support.

In an email sent to his followers, he wrote: 'Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER' and in a separate message he asked for more money for his campaign. 

The alleged gunman, identified as registered Democrat Ryan Wesley Rout, 58, was found unarmed, while a backpack, GoPro camera and AK-47 style rifle that he left behind was located at the scene. 

Vice President Kamal Harris said she was relieved no one was hurt in the alleged assassination attempt. 

'I have been briefed on reports of gunshots fired near former President Trump and his property in Florida, and I am glad he is safe,' she wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

'Violence has no place in America.'

The White House also issued a statement and said that both President Joe Biden and Harris were informed bout the security incident.

'The President and Vice President have been briefed about the security incident at the Trump International Golf Course, where former President Trump was golfing,' according to the White House.

'They are relieved to know that he is safe. They will be kept regularly updated by their team.'

According to polling by the New York Times, Vice President Harris is currently leading Trump by three percentage points nationwide. 

However, the contest is even tighter in key battleground states where neither candidate is leading by even one percentage point in enough states to win 270 electoral votes. 

It comes after Harris was widely considered the winner of the hotly-contested televised debate last week, during which the Republican presidential nominee accused migrants of eating pets and said Democrats wanted to 'execute babies' in the ninth month of pregnancy. 

Among voters who said they had heard at least something about Tuesday's debate, 53 percent said Harris won and 24 percent said Trump won, according to the Reuters/Ipsos poll. 

Harris is currently considering to be faring well in Wisconsin, Iowa, Virginia, North Carolina and even Alaska. 

Whereas Trump, according to recent polls, is doing well in Georgia and Michigan.