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Donald Trump, the former US President and Republican Presidential candidate, made a return to the Pennsylvania fairgrounds on Saturday, the site where he narrowly avoided an assassination attempt in July. He held a massive rally in preparation for November’s election, where Tesla owner Elon Musk also accompanied him and spoke at a Trump for the first time.
According to the news agency AP, the event, which took place in a crucial swing state, attracted a large crowd as Trump aimed to garner support leading up to the election against his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.
In July, Trump was nearly killed when a gunman fired at him, striking his ear. On Saturday, he resumed where he had left off, beginning his speech with, “As I was saying,” while pointing at the same immigration chart he had been reviewing when the shots rang out.
Thousands of supporters arrived as early as Friday, filling the fairgrounds as they waited for Trump. The former president took time during his speech to remember the victims of the July shooting.
At the start of the rally, Trump asked for a moment of silence to honour firefighter Corey Comperatore, who died protecting his family from gunfire during the July assassination attempt. Opera singer Christopher Macchio performed “Ave Maria” as a bell tolled at the exact time the shots had been fired.
“We fought together. We have endured together. We have pushed onward together,” Trump said. “And right here in Pennsylvania, we have bled together. We’ve bled.”
The rally, orchestrated to generate headlines, featured musician Lee Greenwood performing “God Bless the USA,” a staple at Trump events, and an anticipated appearance by billionaire Elon Musk, who also happened to address the crowd.
Trump stood behind protective glass as he addressed the crowd, referring to the would-be assassin as “a vicious monster” and crediting “the hand of providence and the grace of God” for his survival. Armed law enforcement, some in camouflage, were positioned on rooftops to ensure the event’s safety.
One of the rally’s most awaited moments came when Musk took the stage after being introduced by Trump as “a great gentleman” who had “saved free speech.” Musk, who endorsed Trump following the assassination attempt, rallied the crowd, saying, “President Trump must win to preserve the Constitution. He must win to preserve democracy in America. This is a must-win situation.”
Musk, now the owner of Twitter (rebranded as X), wore a black “Make America Great Again” hat and was seen backstage with Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance. Billboards on the way to the venue read “IN MUSK WE TRUST” alongside his image, underscoring his influence within the conservative movement.
Earlier, Vance took the stage and reflected on the events of July 13, criticising Democrats for calling Trump a “threat to democracy.” He described the day Trump was shot at, recalling how the former president raised his fist in defiance and yelled, “Fight, fight!” Vance, chosen as Trump’s vice presidential nominee shortly after the incident, called it a “true miracle” that Trump survived.
On July 13, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, opened fire from an unsecured rooftop before being shot and killed by sharpshooters. His motive and how he managed to evade security are still under investigation. The incident is seen as one of the worst Secret Service security failures in decades.
Butler County District Attorney Rich Goldinger assured the public that safety measures had been greatly enhanced for the rally, with the Secret Service deploying “quadruple the assets” it had in July.
Butler County is a Trump stronghold where he won around 66 per cent of the vote in both 2016 and 2020, which is crucial to his re-election efforts.
With just 30 days remaining until the election and voting already underway in some states, Trump’s campaign pulled out all the stops to ensure the event’s significance. The rally, held in Butler County—a predominantly white, rural-suburban region—was a key part of Trump’s strategy to maximise voter turnout in conservative strongholds.
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