Trump to return to Butler – site of first assassination attempt – for weekend rally

Former President Donald Trump returns to the site of his first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, for a rally Saturday — a moment the campaign hopes will inspire his fervent supporters as they gather to honor the deceased victims. during the July shoot.

“I’m going back to Butler because I feel like I have an obligation to go back to Butler. We never finished what we were supposed to do,” Trump said earlier this week in an interview with NewsNation. “I said that day when I was shot, I said, ‘We’re coming back. We’re going to come back.’ And I’m fulfilling a promise, I’m really fulfilling an obligation.”

Trump’s rally is taking place at the Butler Farm Show, the exact same location as the outdoor rally where he was shot in the right ear nearly three months ago. A major difference this time: security will be stricter.

Security will be a focus during Trump’s remarks after errors in security plans allowed the shooter to scale an unmanned building. Security personnel have already started to strengthen measures. For example, a security perimeter was established around the fairgrounds earlier than usual as the campaign to set up the rally site began. Additionally, Trump will be surrounded by bulletproof glass.

The campaign moved quickly in the weeks following the July attempt to secure an October rally date at the site, knowing the importance of Trump’s return to a place where he survived an assassination attempt for first time.

The campaign told ABC News that the family of Corey Comperatore, the man who was killed at Trump’s rally while protecting his family, as well as one of the two injured supporters, David Dutch, will be in attendance Saturday .

Several Trump allies are expected to witness a show of force, including tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, who posted his plans on X, and Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dave McCormick, who was set to take the stage before shots ring out.

Trump’s running mate, Senator JD Vance, will also appear alongside Trump.

Saturday’s rally will intentionally recall the first assassination attempt against him in July, in the same location with the same setup – and perhaps parts of the same speech.

Campaign sources told ABC News that the organization of the rally is expected to be the same, except it will be more “polished” with a “higher level of production value.” That involves increased use of LEDs, larger stands and “better printed signage,” a campaign adviser said.

With exactly one month until Election Day, Saturday’s Butler rally will be an opportunity for Trump, if he can stay on message, to rally his base behind him in the sprint to November, just as he has was able to do so in the days following his election. shot.

After being struck in the ear, Trump was briefly taken to the ground by Secret Service agents who covered him until he got up moments later, throwing his first into the air with a bloody ear , shouting “Fight, fight, fight!”

The moment has since become a central message of his campaign, with Trump and his supporters often chanting “Fight, fight, fight!” at campaign rallies and his campaign frequently uses the image of Trump showing his fist after surviving an assassination attempt as a symbol of his provocative campaign just days before the critical week of the Republican National Convention.

Trump Secret Service snipers immediately killed the gunman, identified by the FBI as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, but the incident sparked a wave of questions about the former president’s security, prompting the Director of the US Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, to speak. and Trump for not holding indoor rallies until weeks after the attack.

Just nine weeks after the Butler shooting, Trump was apparently the subject of a second assassination attempt while playing golf at his West Palm Beach, Florida, course. More recently, it was revealed that Iran had also threatened Trump with assassination.

Following these two incidents, the former president was granted presidential-level security as his campaign was forced to confront new security protocols in planning its campaign events.

Trump has gradually resumed holding a limited number of small and large outdoor campaign events, including in Asheboro, North Carolina, on August 21, where he was first seen surrounded by protective glass. -bullets as he spoke in front of thousands of people. supporters gathered at an open-air aviation museum.

As the campaign prepares for its high-profile rally on Saturday, they said the rally will aim to honor the victims and their families and express thanks to law enforcement and the Pennsylvania community; However, this comes as in recent weeks Trump has stepped up his attacks, turning to dark rhetoric along the way.

After once calling for unity, Trump now blames Democrats’ rhetoric for the threats against his life.

Immediately after his attack on Butler, Trump called on both sides to tone down their rhetoric against each other — a posture that ended fairly quickly for Trump, who returned to his usual attacks.

Addressing the country after officially being named the Republican presidential nominee at the RNC in Milwaukee, Trump said, “just like our ancestors, we must now come together and rise above past differences.”

“All disagreements must be put aside, move forward, united as one people, one nation pledging allegiance to one big and beautiful — I think it’s so beautiful — American flag,” he said. he declared while concluding his inauguration speech at the RNC.

But days later, Trump, at his first rally after President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race, called his political opponents “dangerous people” and escalated his personal attacks on the vice president Kamala Harris – who was announced as Biden’s successor. at the time.

“I was supposed to be nice,” Trump said in Charlotte, North Carolina, in late July. “They say something happened to me when I was shot: I became nice.”

“When you’re dealing with these people – they’re very dangerous people – when you’re dealing with them, you can’t be that nice. You really can’t be – if you don’t mind. — I I’m not going to be nice.” Trump continued, followed by the crowd chanting “Fight, fight, fight.”

As Trump returns to Butler, many of the former president’s most ardent supporters have been reluctant to continue attending his rallies.

“It’s kind of like…it almost brings back memories, because it’s almost the same setup,” said one rally attendee from Butler, speaking at the Asheboro, SC, rally. North last month, where Trump gave a speech to thousands of people. supporters outside for the first time since his first assassination attempt.

“At least we have snipers on it. Really, every sniper roof on it makes me feel safer. It brings back memories, especially when we go back in October,” he said. -he declared.

Susan Gibala, of Irwin, Pa., said she went to a Trump rally in Johnstown, Pa., just after surviving the Butler rally, and continued to feel safe at Trump rallies.

“To be honest with you, it’s one of the safest places. And I know I was at Butler when this happened. And I know that sounds very strange to say, but I feel like these are the safest places I could be,” said Gibala, attending another Trump rally in Indiana, Pennsylvania, last month.

“So it hasn’t really changed me in that sense. I know a lot of my friends, they’ve had to take some time off. They’ve had to really work on some things, but I just think it’s one of the safest places to be.