Donald Trump returns Saturday to the site where he survived an assassination attempt 12 weeks ago in what his campaign believes will be a launching pad to the White House.
The former president will triumphantly take the stage in front of a large crowd on the grounds of the Butler Farm Show in Pennsylvania for what is expected to be a wild rally.
Trump has joked that he will begin by telling the crowd: “As I was saying…”
Just minutes after beginning to speak at the venue on July 13, gunman Thomas Crooks unleashed a hail of bullets, one of which grazed Trump on the right ear.
Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face surrounded by Secret Service agents as he is led off stage at a campaign event at Butler Farm Show Inc. in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.
Elon Musk will be among those attending the rally when Donald Trump returns to Butler, Pennsylvania
Former Buffalo Township Fire Company Chief Corey Comperatore died, while rally attendees David Dutch and James Copenhaver were hospitalized with injuries.
The US Secret Service killed the 20-year-old shooter who had managed to scale a nearby roof amid a series of major security breaches.
After the shooting, Trump clenched his fist and pleaded with his supporters to “fight” as blood ran down his face.
In announcing his return to Butler, the Republican candidate said he planned to “celebrate a unifying vision for America’s future at an event like the world has never seen before.”
A statue of former President Donald Trump, Republican presidential candidate, is installed on a truck before a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The assassination attempt has resonated deeply in the mountain community north of Pittsburgh.
Butler County, named after General Richard Butler, hero of the American Revolution, has not voted Democratic since 1964.
Trump won the county by 38 points in 2016, but that fell to 32 points in 2020.
It’s just the kind of conservative stronghold where he needs to increase voter turnout to win the state of Pennsylvania, which could ultimately decide the election against Kamala Harris.
The Trump campaign sees her return as an opportunity to take center stage from Harris and increase enthusiasm among Republican ranks with a rally that will draw tens of thousands.
Bleachers are set up before a campaign event for former President Donald Trump, Republican presidential candidate, at the Butler Farm Show, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania.
A detail of the ear on a sculpture of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania
Earlier this week, Trump said he felt an “obligation” to return.
He said: ‘We never finished what we were supposed to do. And I said that day I was shot, I said, “We’ll be back, we’ll be back.”
Many of the fans who were there on July 13 will also return.
Jen Golbeck, a University of Maryland professor who monitors pro-Trump online forums, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “There is a sense of pilgrimage to all the protests, but this one will be THE ONLY ONE.”
“There are definitely people who feel, and tell me, that the hand of God has touched Trump.”
Trump has invited dozens of special guests, including family members of Corey Comperatore, to whom he will pay tribute.
There will also be Elon Musk, who will make his first public appearance at a campaign event for the former president since he endorsed him shortly after the assassination attempt.
Helen and Corey Comperatore in photos from Helen’s Facebook page. Corey was shot and killed by Thomas Crooks at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.
Elon Musk takes a small bow of his head as US President Donald Trump congratulates him in firing room four after the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and the Crew Dragon spacecraft on the SpaceX Demo-2 mission from NASA to the International Space Station from NASA’s Kennedy Space Station. Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA May 30, 2020
Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law, who will also be there, said: “What you will see in Butler is the kind of strength and leadership that we are desperate to have in the White House.” “I think it will be an emotional meeting.”
Most people in Butler were at the protest or know someone who was, and graffiti saying “Fight” has been appearing in the area.
Kim Geyer, a Republican Butler County commissioner who was sitting behind Trump when he was shot, will return.
She said: “People who want to feel the inspiration and energy of the Trump movement will attend to support President Trump and let him finish what he started.”
The entrance to the Butler Farm Show grounds in Butler, Pennsylvania
Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said, “Pennsylvanians’ willingness to join President Trump in returning to Butler represents the strength and resilience of the American people.”
Trump has appeared publicly dozens of times since the shooting.
His allies insist his narrow escape did not fundamentally change him, nor did when another suspected gunman shoved the barrel of a rifle through the fence of his Florida golf course last month.
“When you almost lose your life, she stays with you, she stays with him,” said Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, a close Trump ally. But that doesn’t change his determination. His determination is as strong as ever.