Former U.S. president Donald Trump listens as he speaks with reporters while in flight on his plane after a campaign rally at Waco Regional Airport, in Waco, Texas, on March 25.Evan Vucci/The Associated Press This is the year October came early. For decades, American political strategists have girded for an “October surprise” – a startling development just ahead of November elections that upends the political calculus, transforms the country’s conversation, scrambles the election odds and reshapes the presidential campaign. Don’t look now, but the leaves (all the premises that undergirded the 2024 election) are falling and casks of autumn cider...