NEW DELHI, July 15. /TASS/. The attempted assassination of former US President Donald Trump will boost his image as well as trigger the support of both his fans and neutral observers, President of the New Delhi-based analytical center Imagindia Institute Robinder Sachdev told TASS.

"It will help Trump to beef up his image of a strong man. The immediate reaction after the shooting was that he raised his fist and said: ‘We will fight.’ Even there was blood on his cheeks. So it will reinforce the image that Trump is a strong man," the expert stressed.

He expressed confidence that the incident will impact the upcoming US presidential election. "This incident will definitely impact American elections," he said, adding that it will create some sympathy for Trump among both his supporters and neutral voters.

Sachdev thinks that the assassination attempt may have been triggered by several reasons. "It could be a personal vendetta, he may be angry at Donald Trump for some very different things, not political ideology," the political scientist said. "Second, it could be that he was angry at Trump’s political ideology. The third thing is that the shooter may have been a hired shooter," he added.

The expert suggested that somebody may have hated Trump "to the extent that he wanted to kill him because of his policies, because Trump is no doubt a very divisive figure in America."

An assassination attempt on Trump took place at a pre-election rally in Pennsylvania on July 13. The former president was wounded but his life is not in danger: the bullet tore off a small piece of his ear. One of his supporters was killed in the shooting, two others were injured, and are in critical condition. The attacker, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was killed by the Secret Service. The shooter’s motives are not yet known.