Donald Trump held his first campaign rally since he was shot, thanking his supporters for their outpouring of love while ridiculing Democrats as a party of corrupt politicians trying to overthrow their leader in a coup.
The large white gauze-filled bandage he had been wearing for weeks to protect his injured ear was gone. It had been replaced by a smaller, flesh-colored bandage.
“Last week I was shot for democracy,” he said Saturday.
As Joe Biden, 81, recovers from COVID-19 at home, Trump, 78, stepped out to a thunderous welcome, providing an extraordinary political split screen for the 2024 election.
While one president fights for his political life, another has survived a 2020 defeat, a criminal conviction and an assassin’s bullet to once again straddle his party.
He returned to the stage in Grand Rapids a changed man, according to his confidants.
Donald Trump held his first campaign rally since he was shot, thanking his supporters for their outpouring of love while ridiculing Democrats as a party of corrupt politicians trying to overthrow their leader in a coup.
But he quickly began his usual campaign speech, conducting a survey among his supporters to find out who they would like to face in the election.
They booed Vice President Kamala Harris, but they booed Biden even louder.
“I don’t think we need to go much further,” Trump said, before turning his attention to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is also being talked about as a possible candidate.
“They have a terrible governor who did a terrible job. I would like to run against her.”
He turned his attention to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is also being talked about as a possible candidate.
After the formality of the Republican National Convention and its delegates last week in Milwaukee, Trump basked in the adoration of his grassroots supporters.
They held their fists in the air as he entered the arena and chanted “fight, fight, fight” in homage to the way Trump responded after getting up from the ground following his injury last weekend.
He used the opportunity to distance himself from the radical Project 2025 plan developed by allies and former officials as a model for a second Trump administration.
“Some people on the right, the far right, came up with this Project 25,” he said. “And I don’t even know… they’re kind of the opposite of the radical left… I don’t know what the hell it is… some of the stuff… it’s really extreme.”
Democrats have launched extreme plans against him. “I don’t know what the hell it is,” Trump said.
Security measures were noticeably stricter than at other demonstrations. Not only was the event held in an enclosed space, but Secret Service agents searched bags much more closely than usual, along with magnetometers.
Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, fired up the crowd before the former president’s appearance.
Supporters said they would not be intimidated by last weekend’s shooting.
Michigan is one of the key states that could decide the outcome of the election. Trump won it by just over 10,000 votes in 2016, but Joe Biden turned it around four years later.
Grand Rapids has special significance for Trump. He held his final rally of the 2016 campaign there before pulling off a surprise victory.
He returned for his final rally of 2020 but was unable to secure victory.
Over the past week, family members, advisers and officials have said the shooting has changed Trump, and his speech at the party convention on Thursday was billed as an opportunity to call for unity and understanding.
That lasted about 15 minutes as the former president quickly segued into a rally speech, criticizing Biden, “Crazy Nancy Pelosi” and his usual targets.
Supporters were not intimidated by the shooting and formed ranks of thousands.
Police monitor the scene outside Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids from the roof of another building.
Trucks block streets around Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids ahead of Donald Trump’s rally on Saturday
On Saturday he launched straight into his usual rally spectacle, much to the delight of an army of fans unwilling to be intimidated by the small matter of an assassin’s bullet.
“One of the messages that President Trump sent out after what happened in Butler was a message that could be summed up in two words: Do not be afraid,” said Blake Marnell, a veteran of more than 40 protests.
Dressed in his famous “brick suit,” he was present in Butler, less than 10 meters from Trump, when he was shot in the ear and wrestled to the ground by Secret Service agents.
At his side were other “Front Row Joes” who travel the country from demonstration to demonstration.
“We saw the hand of God protecting the president last week and I feel safe being here because those hands protect us all,” said Rick Lane, 55, of Pennsylvania, wearing one of the “I bleed red, white, and Trump” T-shirts made by his own clothing company.