Donald Trump kicked off his second rally Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania, by thanking the U.S. Secret Service members who “threw their bodies on top of mine” and saved his life during a July assassination attempt.
“Without even a thought for their own lives,” he added. “They were on top of me so fast, and there was not even a moment of doubt in their minds.”
Trump’s rally marked his first return to the city since 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight shots at him while he was speaking on stage— wounding his ear, and killing off-duty firefighter Corey Comperatore.
“This field is now a monument to our first responders, to the resilience to our fellow citizens, and to the sacrifice of a loving and devoted father,” said Trump, in reference to Comperatore. He then asked the audience for a moment of silence and song in Comperatore’s honor, whose widow was also present at the event.
Before taking the stage, Trump was preceded by his son Eric Trump and his wife, RNC co-chair Laura, who also introduced conservative voter registration influencer Scott Pressler.
Overall, Trump invited around 60 “special guests” to the rally, including his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, and Tesla billionaire Elon Musk, who is reportedly bankrolling Trump’s third presidential campaign and plans to effectively run the federal government (and fire tens of thousands of federal workers) as the head of “government efficiency” if Trump is elected.
“As you can see, I’m not just MAGA. I’m dark MAGA,” said Musk as he took to the podium and called for the protection of free speech, the second amendment, and encouraged people to vote because it is a ”must-win” situation.
“Register to vote and get everyone you know, and everyone you don’t know, drag them to vote,” said Musk. “Test people now. if they don’t, this will be the last election. That’s my prediction.”
Several of Trump’s loyalists in Congress also joined the event, including Republican Rep. Mike Kelly, chairman of the House task force investigating the security failures that led to the attempt on Trump’s life. The former and possibly future president also invited a slew of county sheriffs from across Pennsylvania, the biggest of the key battleground states where the election will be decided.
After demolishing Joe Biden by default in the debate that ended the president’s reelection bid, Trump appeared headed for an election victory after literally dodging an aspiring assassin’s bullet. Just two days later, ahead in the polls, he arrived a martyr at his party’s nominating convention in Milwaukee.
But now he’s locked in a dead heat with Kamala Harris 31 days before Election Day. Saturday’s rally was designed to put the president ahead. The Trump campaign heavily promoted the event in spite of serious staffing and logistical constraints on the Secret Service.
At another rally in rural Pennsylvania on Saturday, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) told hundreds of Democrats that it all comes down to his state. “Pennsylvania picks the president and that’s why we are counting on counties just like Beaver to jam it up and deliver Harris-Walz in 2024,” he said.
