Donald Trump has returned to the scene where he narrowly escaped assassination in July, pushing the emotional buttons of his supporters and suggesting his political opponents “might even try to kill me” to prevent him from taking the White House regain.
The Republican presidential candidate – and eternal showman – provided an unabashedly sentimental spectacle in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. He was joined by billionaire Elon Musk, who made the baseless claim that if Trump’s supporters don’t show up, “this will be the last election.”
Their joint performance before an enthusiastic crowd of thousands of hours of programming seemed designed to mythologize the July 13 shooting at the Trump compound, just one month before the presidential election.
The rally was held, with heightened security, on the same grounds where Trump was grazed in the right ear and a rally goer – firefighter Corey Comperatore – was killed when a gunman opened fire. The would-be killer, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper.
A photo of Trump standing with trails of blood running down his face as he raised his fist and shouted, “Fight!” shouted. became the indelible image of his campaign. Still, Joe Biden’s decision just a week later to step aside and endorse his vice president, Kamala Harris, stole Trump’s thunder and changed the trajectory of the race.
On Saturday, Trump became the first former president to return to the scene of his assassination attempt and weaponize it for political gain. His campaign tried to recapture their candidate’s image as hero and martyr.
Related: Harris and Trump neck-and-neck in polls as early voting approaches
As he walked onto the stage, a video juxtaposed an image of George Washington crossing the Delaware River with Trump’s photo with his fist raised. A voice boomed, “This man is unstoppable. This man cannot be defeated.”
“Like I said…” Trump said as he appeared on stage, gesturing to an immigration map he was looking at when the gunfire began 12 weeks earlier. The crowd, which was predominantly white, roared enthusiastically and held up signs reading “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Standing behind protective glass that now envelops the stage at his outdoor rallies, Trump recalled: “On this very property, a cold-blooded killer tried to silence me and silence the greatest movement – Maga – in the history of our country… By the providence and grace of God, that villain failed in his purpose. He did not stop our movement.”
Trump even seemed to be trying to emulate Abraham Lincoln’s Gettsyburg speech when he described the field as a “monument to the courage” of our first responders and prophesied: “Forever afterward, all who have visited this holy place will remember what happened here.” happened and they I will know the character and courage that so many incredible American patriots have shown.”
But Trump also hinted darkly, without evidence, that he would face “an enemy from within” more dangerous than any foreign adversary. “Over the past eight years, those who want to keep us from achieving this future have slandered me, sued me, tried to get me off the ballot and who knows, even tried to kill me,” he said. “But I never stopped fighting for you and I never will.”
Trump saluted volunteer firefighter Comperatore, who was shot and killed by the gunman, and two other supporters who were injured. A memorial was set up in the stands, his firefighter jacket surrounded by flowers. Giant screens read “In loving memory of Corey Comperatore,” accompanied by his photo. Comperatore’s family was present.
At 6:11 p.m., the exact time gunfire broke out on July 13, Trump called for a moment of silence. Then a bell rang four times, once for each of the four victims, including Trump. Then opera singer Christopher Macchio sang Ave Maria.
Trump then moved into more familiar territory of falsehoods about immigration and other topics. He later called Musk, the CEO of Tesla and owner of social media platform X, who has veered politically to the right, on stage. Wearing a black cap and a black “Occupy Mars” shirt and jacket, Musk jumped around with his arms up and was greeted with cheers.
He said: “The true test of a person’s character is how he or she behaves under fire. We had a president who couldn’t climb stairs and another who was pumping his fists after being shot! Fight, fight, fight!”
Despite Trump’s attempt to stage a coup and remain in power on January 6, 2021, Musk argued: “President Trump must win to preserve the Constitution. He must win to preserve democracy in America. This is a must-win situation. Call everyone you know, drag them to register to vote. If they don’t, this will be the last election. That’s my prediction.”
The shooting of Butler led to widespread criticism of the Secret Service and the resignation of its director. Critics raised concerns about how Crooks gained access to a nearby rooftop with a direct line of sight to where Trump was speaking. In September, the former president survived another attempt on his life when a gunman hid undetected for nearly 12 hours on a golf course at one of his clubs in Florida.
There was an enhanced security presence on Saturday, with the Secret Service and other law enforcement officers in camouflage uniforms stationed on rooftops. The building from which Crooks shot was completely obscured by tractors and a fence.
The rally had a cheerful atmosphere, as if it were a giant picnic. People sat on the grass or on fold-out chairs and walkers in the bright sun. They looked up into the brilliant blue sky and saw four Special Forces paratroopers – one holding a giant Stars and Stripes – jump from a Cessna 206 aircraft from more than 5,000 feet before performing a flypast of ‘Trump Force One ‘, accompanied by the theme music from the movie Top Gun.
One tent featured paintings of the now-famous image of a bloodied Trump with his fist raised – reproductions could be purchased for up to $200. That photo was also visible on numerous T-shirts worn by Trump supporters with slogans such as “ Fight… fight… fight!’, ‘American badass’, ‘Never surrender’ and ‘Fight. Trump 2024. Legends never die.” The commercialization of the former president’s near-death experience was clearly visible.
Attendees spoke of their fervent support for Trump, their suspicion that Democrats were behind an assassination plot and that his life had been spared by divine intervention.
Patricia King, 82, attended the July rally in Butler with a walker with her 63-year-old daughter Diana, and both felt it was important to return. “I remember the long wait and how hot it was and the people who were loyal enough to stand there and some of them fainted,” said King, a retired nurse. “I remember the shots went off – pop, pop, pop, pop – and I turned around and looked to see where he was and everyone started running.”
King praised Trump’s instinctively combative response that day. “I think that’s great. That’s like, I’m not giving up and that’s what America is about. We don’t give up. Kamala Harris is too weak. I think she would ask Putin to have a cup of tea with her, which doesn’t seem strong to me.’
Debbie Hasan, 61, a landlord wearing a Trump 2024 hat, described Saturday’s rally as “history in the making” and recalled the events of July 13. “I was watching TV and my husband was in the other room. I start shouting, ‘They shot Trump! They shot Trump!’ Then I called my brother and I screamed. And when I saw him get up and see the fist pump, it was an amazing sight. He’s a great man.”
Hasan outlined a baseless conspiracy theory that Democrats orchestrated the shooting. ‘I hate to say it, I think they were behind all this. They can’t beat him any other way. They tried to take him to court on all kinds of trumped-up charges. They are at their limit. They don’t know what else to do. They promote hatred and prejudice. The way they talk about him, some idiots will say: he should get a keyhole.’
Many protesters echoed Trump’s claim that God saved him to save the country. Rodney Moreland, 66, who quit several jobs including welding, truck driving and security, said: “I don’t know if you believe in God, but there was definitely an angel around him that day. After that happened, everything about him changed. Now he is calm, cool and collected and he knows what words to say.”
But Moreland warned of a possible backlash to the election results. ‘If things go the opposite way, there will be war. The last election was rigged. They said: we can’t let him stay in office again.’
Kristi Masemer, 52, a Walmart employee, wears a T-shirt that reads, “I’m still a Trump girl.” I make no apologies,” criticized people who said they wished the would-be assassin had killed the former president.
“The number of people who said, ‘I’m sorry he missed.’ People actually said that about another human being. That’s the Democratic party. Are you kidding? That’s not humanity. Who would think that?”
Masemer praised the restraint of Trump supporters after the assassination attempt. ‘Best of all, the people in the Maga movement did not revolt afterwards. We didn’t hit back at these people because we’re not haters. We just want our country back and that’s all.”
Butler County, on the western edge of a coveted presidential swing state, is a rural community and a Trump stronghold. He won the county with about 66% of the vote in both 2016 and 2020. About 57% of Butler County’s 139,000 registered voters are Republicans, compared to about 29% Democrats and 14% other parties.
Jana Anderson, 62, who works at an animal shelter, said: “I don’t think a woman should be president just because it has always been men. I am a woman, but I believe men should lead the country, not women. Women, in my opinion, are sleepless. I mean, she says a lot of things, she promises a lot, but I don’t know if she’s capable of doing that.
