Donald Trump returned Saturday to a campaign rally site where an assassin’s bullet nearly killed him in July, questioning whether his opponents were responsible and declaring he would “never leave.”
“Exactly 12 weeks ago this evening, on this very field, a cold-blooded killer aimed to silence me,” the Republican nominee told thousands of supporters as he took the stage behind bulletproof glass.
Calling the gunman a “vicious monster”, Trump vowed he would “never give up… never bow down… never give in” amid chants of “fight, fight, fight” from the crowd.
Trump’s much-publicized return to Butler, Pennsylvania, came just over a month before the Nov. 5 presidential election, the results of which President Joe Biden suggested on Friday may not be peaceful.
Trump attacked his political opponents, calling him “the enemy within” who had pressured him to impeach him and “who knows, maybe even tried to kill me.”
“I shouldn’t have made it,” he said ominously.
Security was much tighter than at Trump’s July rally, with sniper squads deployed on nearby buildings and a surveillance drone deployed overhead.
“There’s a lot going on that is disturbing,” said Heather Hughes, 43, who was visiting 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.”
After the assassination attempt, photos of Trump – with a bloodied face, pumping his fists and shouting “fight, fight, fight” – became defining images of the campaign.
On Saturday, many Trump supporters wore shirts emblazoned with the iconography, and some wore ear coverings reminiscent of the bandages the former president wore after the shooting.
Billionaire Elon Musk joined Trump on stage, emphasizing the narrow margins that will decide the election in battleground states like Pennsylvania and encouraging voter registration.
“Trump must win to preserve democracy in America,” Musk said, reiterating the alarming message he has repeatedly delivered to his 200 million followers on his X platform.
caste reversed
Much has changed since Trump’s last visit to Butler, when he topped the polls after crushing Biden in a TV debate.
Barely a week after the failed assassination attempt, the presidential race flipped when Biden dropped out and was replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.
Harris has clawed back election losses – overturning them in some states – and the seismic events in Butler that threatened to spark chaos have largely dissipated.
Trump’s rally was aimed at regaining momentum as a difficult campaign enters its final stages.
Harris, whom Trump has called incompetent, was on Saturday meeting with first responders in North Carolina and people affected by Hurricane Helene, which killed at least 220 people as it devastated the Southeast.
“When we bring together resources at the federal, state and local level and use the kind of collegiality that produces results, emergency response is the best example of what we can do,” he told officials at a briefing. Are.”
Trump has criticized the federal response, alleging without evidence that the Biden-Harris administration has misdirected relief funds meant for migrants.
Election violence?
The heavy security presence Saturday highlighted persistent security fears, underlined when another attempt on Trump’s life was foiled last month.
The Secret Service has been criticized for failing to secure the building where the Butler shooter fired at Trump eight times before being killed.
Along with Trump, two supporters were injured and one – firefighter Corey Comparat – died.
Trump and his campaign have tried to challenge Democrats’ warnings about the former president being a threat to democracy.
“Republicans are not violent… I think they (Democrats) are provoked. They keep talking about Hitler and the end of democracy,” said retiree Glenn Shirer, who with five of his relatives lives in “God’s Grace They were wearing similar clothes. T-shirt showing Trump after the shooting.
In the immediate aftermath of the Butler incident, all parties sought to lower the political temperature.
However, Trump immediately returned to his signature inflammatory rhetoric and refused to commit to accepting the final result in November.
He has been accused of attempting to subvert the 2020 election, which culminated in his supporters storming the Capitol.
Asked about the possibility of further election-related violence, Biden said Friday he did not know whether the vote would be peaceful.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)