BUTLER, Pa. (Reuters) – Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump returned on Saturday to the rural Pennsylvania area where he was nearly assassinated, drawing large crowds in the crucial battleground state a month before the Nov. 5 election.
“Like I was saying,” Trump said as he appeared on stage, pretending to resume a speech that had been interrupted when a bullet grazed his ear on July 13.
In the middle of his speech, Trump called on stage a powerful ally, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and owner of social networking platform X. It was the first time he had attended a Trump campaign event since he endorsed the former president after July 13.
Musk literally took the stage with his hands up.
“The real test of someone’s character is how they behave under fire,” Musk said, calling the election a “must-win situation” for Trump and urging the crowd to register to vote.
“Become a parasite on everyone you know,” Musk said.
Trump saluted firefighter Corey Comperatore, who was shot and killed by the gunman, and two other people who were injured.
At 6:11 p.m., the exact time the shooting broke out on July 13, Trump called for a moment of silence. A bell then rang four times, one for each of the four victims, including Trump.
In his speech, Trump hinted darkly, without evidence, that he was facing “a domestic enemy” more dangerous than a foreign adversary. Of the gunman, he said “a cold-blooded killer aimed to silence me” but “didn’t stop our movement”.
The crowd appeared to number in the tens of thousands, many wearing Trump insignia. Some chanted the “fight, fight, fight” slogan that Trump used to rally his supporters shortly after he was shot.
“We’re here to say, we can’t be intimidated, we can’t stop,” Ohio Republican Sen. Jay Dee (NASDAQ:JD) Vance, Trump’s running mate, told the crowd.
Vance rejected the argument by Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats that Trump is a threat to democracy.
“Donald Trump took a bullet for democracy. What the hell have you been doing?’ Vance said.
The crowd cheered as Trump’s plane flew over the rally before landing as loudspeakers played the theme song from the movie “Top Gun.”
Trailers were lined up around the site as a protective measure to block the surrounding view, including the building where the gunman had opened fire.
Adding to the carnival atmosphere, three skydivers with American flags flying behind them dropped and landed near the building.
July 13th was the first of two assassination attempts on Trump. On September 15, a gunman hid undetected for nearly 12 hours at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, with plans to kill him, prosecutors said, but was stopped by a US Secret Service agent patrolling the course before from Trump.
Republican officials hope that Trump’s return to Butler will increase the turnout of his hardline supporters in Pennsylvania, a state that he and his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris, see as critical to a Nov. 5 victory.
“I’m coming back to Butler because I feel like I have an obligation to come back to Butler,” Trump told cable news network NewsNation earlier this week. “We never finished what we had to do.”
The introductory speakers at the gathering focused on the memory of Comperatore, whose family members were in attendance.
“We will not let this tragic day dim the light of our community,” said JD Longo, mayor of the nearby town of Slippery Rock.
Butler’s shooting led to widespread criticism of the US Secret Service and the resignation of its director.
Critics raised concerns about how the 20-year-old suspect, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was able to gain access to a nearby rooftop with direct line of sight to where Trump was speaking. Crooks was then shot to death by Secret Service agents.
A Secret Service investigation found lapses in communication and a lack of diligence before the shootings. The agency then approved additional security measures for Trump, including the use of bulletproof glass to protect him at outdoor rallies.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement before Saturday’s gathering that there had been “comprehensive changes and improvements in our communications capabilities, resources and protection operations.”
Trump credits turning his head to read a diagram on a long video with saving his life. With blood dripping down his face, he raised a fist and shouted “fight” to his supporters, a vivid image from that day. He wore a white bandage over his injured ear for days afterwards.
“I love this chart,” Trump said when it flashed on the screen Saturday. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
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Reference;
Reuters (2024) Trump returns to site of assassination attempt in Pennsylvania By Reuters, Investing.com. Investing.com. Available at: https://www.investing.com/news/world-news/trump-returns-to-site-of-assassination-attempt-in-pennsylvania-3650118 (Accessed: 6 October 2024).
