Donald Trump He picked up where he left off in July when a gunman tried to do so assassinate But he only hit his ear before raising his fist and shouting, “Murderer!” He was taken away with blood on his face.
“Tonight I return to Butler in the wake of tragedy and heartache to deliver a simple message to the people of Pennsylvania and to the people of America,” the Republican presidential nominee said. “Our movement to Make America Great Again stands stronger, prouder, more united, more determined and closer to victory than ever before.”
The Trump campaign wanted to maximize the event’s headline-grabbing potential by just… 30 days to go In his race against his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump said that the killer tried to silence him, describing him as an “evil monster” and saying that he did not succeed “by the hand of providence and the grace of God.”
Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator. J.D. Vancetook the stage at Butler Farm Show Arena to address the former president and reflect on the events of that day while harshly criticizing Democrats and calling Trump a “threat to democracy,” saying that kind of language is “inflammatory.”
“I heard the shots. I saw the blood. We all feared the worst. But you knew everything was going to be okay when President Trump raised his fist high in the air and shouted, ‘Fight,'” said Vance, who was chosen as his vice presidential nominee less than two days later. “Fight!” He added: “Now I fully believe as I stand here today that what happened was a true miracle.”
Billionaire Elon Musk is also expected to speak as the campaign raises the headline-generating potential for his comeback in its tight race against Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. A billboard on the way to the rally read: “In Musk We Trust,” and showed his picture.
A massive crowd stood shoulder to shoulder from the stage to the press podium several hundred meters away at the event billed as a “tribute to the American spirit.” Area hotels, motels and motels were said to be full and some marchers arrived on Friday.
Crowds lined up at sunrise on Saturday. Firefighter memorial Core comperatorewho died while protecting family members from gunfire, was placed in the stands, his firefighter’s jacket on display surrounded by flowers. His sisters were crying when the speakers mentioned him. There was a very visible heavy security presence, with armed law enforcement personnel wearing camouflage uniforms on the rooftops.
Trump’s plane flew overhead before his arrival, sparking cheers from those gathered in the stadium below. As onlookers watched Trump’s plane in the sky, cell phones rang in the air.
Trump planned to use the event to remember Comperatore, a volunteer firefighter killed at the July 13 march, and to recognize two other marchers, David Deutch and James Copenhaver. They and Trump were wounded when the shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, opened fire from a nearby unsecured roof before snipers shot him dead.
The building from which Crooks fired was completely obscured by tractor trailers, a large grassy perimeter and a fence. Most of the stands are now on either side, rather than behind Trump.
How Crooks was able to outsmart law enforcement that day and scramble over a building within walking distance of the former president is among the most interesting. Many questions remain unanswered About the Secret Service’s worst security failure in decades. Another is his motivation.
“Everyone is redoubling their efforts to make sure this is done safely and properly,” Butler County District Attorney Rich Goldinger told WPXI-TV this week.
County Sheriff Mike Sloop told the station he estimates the Secret Service is deploying “four times as many assets” as it did in July. The agency underwent a painful reckoning over its handling of two attempts on Trump’s life.
Butler County, located on the western edge of a presidential swing state, is a Trump stronghold. He won the county with about 66% of the vote in both 2016 and 2020. About 57% of the county’s 139,000 registered voters are Republicans, compared to about 29% Democrats and 14% of everything else.
Chris Harpster, 30, of Tyrone, Pennsylvania, was with his girlfriend on Saturday as he returned to the scene of the accident. On July 13, he said, “I was scared” — as were his parents, who were watching at home and who texted him immediately after the shots rang out.
The tight security measures made him feel better now, as well as the presence of his girlfriend, who was participating in the rally for the first time. Harpster said he will be a third-time Trump voter in November, based on the Republican nominee’s positions on immigration, guns, abortion and energy. Harpster said he hopes Pennsylvania will go Republican, especially because of concern about oil and gas industry jobs.
last The city’s population was divided On the value of Trump’s return. Heidi Priest, a Butler resident who created a Facebook group supporting Harris, said Trump’s recent visit has raised political tensions in the city.
“Whenever you see people supporting him and excited to have him here, it scares away people who don’t want him re-elected,” she said.
Terri Palmquist came from Bakersfield, Calif., and said her 18-year-old daughter tried to dissuade her. “I think we need to not let fear control us. That’s what the other side wants is fear. If fear controls us, we will lose.”
She said she was not worried about her own safety.
“Honestly, I think God had control over Trump, for a reason. I do. So we encourage him.”
But Trump needs to Increase voter turnout In conservative strongholds like Butler County, an overwhelmingly white rural and suburban community, if he wants to win Pennsylvania in November. Harris also targeted her campaign efforts in Pennsylvania, where she repeatedly rallied as part of it Aggressive outreach in critical swing states.