Butler, Pennsylvania – A dramatic return to the site of the July 13th attempted assassination attempt, 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump feigned a defeatism in a rally Saturday “I will never give up, not even in the face of death itself.” The gathering, which was initially a memorial for those who lost their lives, quickly transformed into an event that emphasized the gravity of an already charged election.
Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania was a turning point of one of the most incredible and tension-filled political campaigns in modern US history. He arrives in Butler exactly three months after he was shot during a campaign event, an event that outraged the country and added the risk of political violence to an already fraught election.
A Defiant Return to the Crime Scene
Trump’s speech had the signature combination of grit and rage. Trump has framed the assassination plot as the key to his campaign, cementing his position as an oppressed individual: “They who want to obstruct us… have betrayed me, impeached me, accused me, tried to knock me off the ballot and who knows, perhaps tried to kill me,” Trump said to an upbeat crowd. The former president pledged to keep up the fight for the presidency “I will never give up even when death comes.
The shooting in July killed two and injured another. The gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot and killed by the authorities but they don’t know why, says the FBI. Trump himself has spoken about the assault in 31 of his 51 public statements since the attack, USA TODAY analyzed.
Honoring the Victims
Trump’s return to Butler was not just a political rally; it was also a memorial to the shooting victims. Trump also dedicated much of his address to Comperatore and two other injured crowd members. Trump had an opportunity to console with Comperatore’s family prior to the rally and praise their “beautiful Corey”.
He was considerably more tender and sympathetic early in the show than at his normally hardline rallies, but later turned back to more conventional language regarding his political adversaries. The assassination plot has also come to symbolize Trump’s broader argument that he is infiltrated by his legal and political enemies.
Rally Goes Political
Though Trump didn’t initially mention his 2024 opponents, Trump moved to typical anti-Kamala Harris and other Democrats. He said the election was a fight for the future of America and to the crowd: “Twelve weeks ago, we all took a bullet for America.” He said that winning the 2024 election would be “the greatest achievement in the history of politics”.
The rally attracted hundreds of thousands of people, most of whom see the assassination attempt as just another example of Trump’s narrative that he is up against a corrupt establishment “Everyone who wants to stop us will fall because we are fighting for America’s soul,” Trump said.
Musk Goes With Trump, Slams Biden
The rally even welcomed a celebrity visitor: the billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who thanked Trump for holding his own through the assassination attempt. Musk referred to Trump’s reaction as “courage under fire,” and blasted President Joe Biden, particularly the president that is older “The modern world demands leadership that is able to deal with these pressures and Trump demonstrated that courage is the key to survival when things go awry,” Musk told the crowd.
Musk, a more recently engrossed conservative in recent times, also called for Trump supporters to register and vote “We can’t afford to wait this one out. “The America of tomorrow lies with us,” Musk said.
High Stakes Election
The election in 2024 is already one of the most volatile and lopsided in recent years. The July shooting, the one that happened before President Joe Biden backed out, didn’t change polling much but Kamala Harris has run better since replacing Biden on the Democratic ticket. The assassination plot and Trump’s continued references to it have become a staple of his presidential campaign.
Even the shooting, rattling the country, has only made this year’s race in 2024 more extraordinary, which has already exploded with legal drama, claims of political violence, and unrest. And now, going into the elections, Trump’s resilience and resiliency during the assassination plot is bound to be central to his narrative while he seeks office again.
To read all about the rally and politics in the 2024 elections, visit USA Today and The Associated Press.
