Former President Donald Trump has boldly declared he will continue holding outdoor rallies after being warned by the Secret Service to stop following his assassination attempt.
On Saturday morning, he He again turned to his Truth Social platform. and insisted that a bullet will not stop him from organizing another outdoor meeting.
In capital letters, Trump wrote: “I will continue to hold outdoor events and the Secret Service has agreed to substantially step up their operations. They are quite capable of doing so. No one can ever be allowed to stop or impede freedom of speech or assembly!!!”
Trump’s announcement comes just hours after he confirmed he would return to the same spot where he was shot for a “big, beautiful rally.”
“I’ll be back in Butler, PA for a big, beautiful rally to honor the soul of our beloved firefighter hero, Corey, and those brave patriots injured two weeks ago. It’s going to be a spectacular day! Fight, fight, fight! Stay tuned for more details.” he wroteonce again in capital letters, on Friday.
Former President Donald Trump responded to the Secret Service after saying he would continue to hold outdoor rallies even after he was shot two weeks ago (pictured) in Butler, Pennsylvania.
On Saturday morning, he returned to his platform and insisted that a bullet would not stop him from organizing another outdoor meeting.
The presidential candidate, who will be questioned by the FBI about the assassination attempt, did not specify when the rally would take place.
At a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, just two weeks ago, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, a registered Republican and Biden donor, opened fire on the presidential candidate.
Trump was hit in the ear by a bullet as Secret Service agents surrounded him for protection. Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old retired fire chief from Buffalo Township, died while two other men were in critical condition.
The FBI has yet to receive a statement from Trump’s victim as the agency gathers evidence to investigate the horrific event, an official said.
Office director Christopher Wray sparked a firestorm Wednesday when he testified to lawmakers on Capitol Hill that there were still “some questions” about whether the former president was hit by a bullet or shrapnel.
“With respect to former President Trump, there is some question as to whether it was a bullet or shrapnel that struck his ear,” Wray said.
‘I don’t know now if that bullet, in addition to causing the graze, could have landed somewhere else.’
The presidential candidate has since given lengthy accounts of the moment he was shot and was seen with a bandage over his ear.
In a later statement, Trump attempted to clarify Wray’s comment.
On Friday, Trump took to his platform Truth Social and confirmed that he will return to the same spot where he was shot for a “BIG, BEAUTIFUL RALLY.”
Trump was quick to refute any suggestion he was hit by shrapnel, saying he was hit by “a bullet that hit me in the ear and hit me hard.”
He posted on his Truth Social site: “There was no glass or shrapnel. The hospital called it a ‘gunshot wound to the ear’, and that’s what it was. No wonder the once-famous FBI has lost America’s trust!”
The former president’s campaign also criticized the idea that Trump was hit by shrapnel rather than a bullet.
“Anyone who believes this conspiracy bullshit is either mentally retarded or willingly spreading falsehoods for political reasons,” Trump campaign adviser Steven Cheung told CNN.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned after appearing before Congress on Monday, came under fire from lawmakers during questioning about the attempted assassination of Trump.
Angry Democrats and Republicans bombarded the embattled Cheatle with questions about how would-be assassin Crooks could open fire on the former president.
He avoided directly answering questions about whether he denied Trump increased protective equipment, whether he focused on diversity and inclusion during hiring and doubled down on not having an agent on the gunman’s roof during the brutal Capitol hearing.
20-year-old registered Republican and Biden donor Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on the presidential candidate on July 13. Corey Comperatore, 50, died while two other men were left in critical condition.
In a stunning moment, Cheatle also admitted that his agents on the ground had been warned two to five times more than they had been informed about a “suspicious person” before Trump took the stage.
Cheatle has previously insisted she was the best person to lead the scandal-hit agency, although she admitted “full responsibility” for the massive security breach.
Trump recently revealed what he really thought about the Secret Service and even revealed another glaring oversight that took place that day.
She said the Secret Service did not warn her about her attacker, even though agents received troubling reports from rally attendees even before Trump took the stage.
Trump told Fox News host Jesse Watters that “no one mentioned” the gunman, despite the fact that he was being monitored for “an hour” before the shooting.
“Mistakes were made,” Watters told Trump. “They were watching this guy for an hour beforehand. Didn’t anybody tell him not to go on stage?”
“Nobody mentioned it,” the former president replied. “Nobody said it was a problem.”
“They could have said, ‘Let’s wait 15, 20 minutes, 5 minutes.’ Nobody said that… I think it was a mistake,” he added.
Trump, along with the rest of America, later questioned how Crooks could have gotten to the roof in the first place.
“How could someone get on that roof?” Trump asked. “And why wasn’t it reported, if people saw him on that roof?”
Trump revealed that security officers were alerted that someone was on the roof with a gun even before he walked on stage, and did not stop him from doing so.
“When the Trump supporters were yelling, the woman in the red shirt, ‘There’s a man on the roof,’ and other people, ‘There’s a man on the roof and he’s got a gun’ — that was well before I got on stage. And I would have thought that somebody would have done something about it,” Trump said.
In the weeks since the shooting, Trump has been sporting a large white bandage over his injured ear. He has since been covering it with a Band-Aid. (Pictured: Trump on July 18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
Trump will headline a rally on Saturday in St. Cloud, Minnesota, alongside his running mate, Sen. JD Vance. (Pictured: Trump and Vance on Fox News Hosts Jesse Watters)
Trump suffered a minor injury from the shooting, but the outcome could have been much worse had he not turned his head slightly at the last minute.
The former president attended the Republican National Convention every day with a large white bandage over his injured ear. He then wore a Band-Aid for several days.
His former doctor turned congressman, Ronny Jackson, released a detailed report on Trump’s health on Saturday.
“He will undergo further evaluations, including a full hearing exam, as needed. He will continue to see his primary care physician as directed by the physicians who initially evaluated him,” Jackson said.
He will headline a rally on Saturday in St. Cloud, Minnesota, alongside his running mate, Sen. JD Vance.
Trump announced a rally on Wednesday in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, located in the center of the state.
The Republican candidate has been holding all of his campaign events indoors since the July 13 shooting.