Supporters took a knee and others bowed their heads as Donald Trump held a moment of silence at 6:11 p.m., the time when shots were fired at a rally at the same rural Pennsylvania showground exactly 12 weeks ago.
An opera singer chanted “Ave Maria” as a Secret Service sniper scanned the horizon with binoculars and a surveillance drone hovered above thousands of rallygoers. Heavily armed officers were patrolling backstage.
The crowd at Butler periodically began chanting “fight, fight, fight” — echoing a Trump rally just after the July 13 shooting that derailed his campaign and briefly upended the campaign for the November election. Had stopped for.
Robert Dupain, 53, a local construction worker who was at the July rally, said, “I liked the fact that he came back… He said he would come back to finish his speech, and for me (to) Courage is needed.” ,
“This is what (these) 50,000 people are standing up for,” Dupain said, describing the “nervous excitement all week” about attending.
Although there was no official count, Saturday’s rally was significantly better attended than previous rallies.
Trump’s return to Butler, an extremely conservative community in the key state of Pennsylvania, was marked with tight security.
“As I was saying,” Trump said laughing from behind bulletproof glass as he began his speech, fuming over the violent interruption of his July speech.
The same chart to which Trump turned his head when the would-be assassin was fired three months ago was shown on a big screen Saturday, to cheers.
In a typically rambling speech, Trump repeated lies about immigration, transgender athletes and his political opponents.
The would-be assassin fired from a complex of abandoned buildings outside the security perimeter, despite Trump’s proximity to the stage. It was ringed by the state police on Saturday.
Trucks were also parked around the venue, blocking possible views.
‘Disturbing’
“There’s a lot going on that’s disturbing,” said Heather Hughes, 43, traveling from New Castle, Pennsylvania.
“Do I think he’s safe? No, I think there’s going to be another attempt. But I think he’ll be successful.”
Trump suggested Saturday that his opponents “maybe even tried to kill me.”
The gunman was shot dead by a countersniper in July, but not before he killed rallygoer Corey Comparator, a firefighter, and wounded two others.
At the beginning of Trump’s speech, the sound of a bell was rung four times, once for each victim, including the former president.
An artist created a monument to the compadre with his firefighter’s helmet, while a singer performed a song about the shooting.
The July attempt, and a September incident at Trump’s golf course in Florida, which the FBI described as another assassination attempt, raised fears of more violence in the campaign and the November vote.
Retiree Glenn Scheyerer, who along with five of his relatives were wearing identical “By the Grace of God” T-shirts, described the 20-year-old gunman as “mentally ill” but suggested he would avoid Trump’s threatening rhetoric. May be affected. For democracy.
‘fight fight Fight’
When Jondavid Longo, mayor of nearby Slippery Rock, paid tribute to the victims of July 13, the crowd chanted the Comptroller’s name.
“We are pleased to welcome President Trump back to Butler,” he said.
“Their return is not just political – it symbolizes our refusal to be defined by tragedy.”
James Sweetland, a doctor who fled to Compton after the shooting, told the crowd that “Our election should not be decided by an assassin’s bullet.”
They were called upon once again on Saturday when a rallygoer in the grandstand near the stage became ill.
Sally Sherry, a Butler Memorial Hospital first responder who treated Trump, said he was not “a tough character like you see on TV.”
“I shouldn’t have done that,” Trump said. “I’m a little embarrassed to say this, but fight, fight, fight!”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)