Trump rallies at Pennsylvania grounds where gunman tried to kill him

Former President Trump claps with a crowd and large American flag in the background.

By Julie Carr Smyth, Jill Colvin and Adriana Gomez Licon

Oct. 5, 2024 Updated 4:34 PM PT

BUTLER, Pa. — Donald Trump returned on Saturday to the Pennsylvania fairgrounds where he was nearly assassinated in July, holding a sprawling rally with a massive crowd of supporters in a critical swing state Trump hopes to return to his column in November’s election.

The former president and Republican nominee picked up where he left off in July when a gunman tried to assassinate him and struck his ear. He began his speech with, “As I was saying,” and gestured toward an immigration chart he was looking at when the gunfire began.

The Trump campaign wanted to maximize the event’s headline-grabbing potential with just 30 days to go and voting already underway in some states in his race against his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. Musician Lee Greenwood appeared on stage and serenaded him with “God Bless the USA,” frequently played at his rallies, and billionaire Elon Musk spoke for the first time at a Trump rally.

“We fought together. We have endured together. We have pushed onward together,” Trump said. “And right here in Pennsylvania, we have bled together. We’ve bled.”

Trump needs to drive up voter turnout in conservative strongholds like Butler County, an overwhelmingly white, rural-suburban community, if he wants to win Pennsylvania in November. Harris, too, has targeted her campaign efforts at Pennsylvania, rallying there repeatedly as part of her aggressive outreach in critical swing states.

At the beginning of the rally, Trump asked for a moment of silence to honor firefighter Corey Comperatore, who died as he shielded family members from gunfire. Opera singer Christopher Macchio sang “Ave Maria” after a bell rung at the same time that gunfire began on July 13.

Standing behind protective glass that now encases the stage at his outdoor rallies, Trump called the would-be assassin “a vicious monster” and said he did not succeed “by the hand of providence and the grace of God.” There was a heightened security presence, with armed law enforcement in camouflage uniforms on roofs.

One of the most anticipated guests of the evening was Musk, who climbed onto the stage on Saturday jumping and pumping his fists in the air after Trump introduced him as a “great gentleman” and said he “saved free speech.”

“President Trump must win to preserve the Constitution. He must win to preserve democracy in America,” said Musk, who endorsed Trump after the assassination attempt. “This is a must-win situation.”

Musk, who bought Twitter and rebranded it as X and has pushed into conservative politics, met with Trump and Vance backstage, donning a black “Make America Great Again” hat. A billboard on the way into the rally said, “IN MUSK WE TRUST,” and showed his photo.

Earlier on Saturday, Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, took the stage.

“You heard the shots. You saw the blood. We all feared the worst. But you knew everything would be OK when President Trump raised his fist high in the air and shouted, ‘fight, fight!’” said Vance, who was chosen as his vice presidential nominee less than two days later. “Now I believe it as sure as I’m standing here today that what happened was a true miracle.”

Crowds had lined up at the venue as the sun rose Saturday. The crowd packed bleachers and stood shoulder to shoulder from the stage to the press stand several hundred yards away. Trump’s plane did flybys over the venue before his arrival, drawing cheers from the crowd.

In addition to Comperatore, Trump recognized the two other rallygoers injured, David Dutch and James Copenhaver. They and Trump were struck when 20-year-old shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pa., opened fire from an unsecured rooftop nearby before he was fatally shot by sharpshooters.

The building from which Crooks fired was on Saturday completely obscured by tractor trailers, a large grassy perimeter and a fence. Most bleachers were now at the sides, rather than behind Trump.

How Crooks managed to outmaneuver law enforcement that day is among many questions that remain unanswered about the Secret Service security failure. Another is his motive.

Butler County Dist. Atty. Rich Goldinger told WPXI-TV this week that “everyone is doubling down on their efforts to make sure this is done safely and correctly.”

Mike Slupe, the county sheriff, told the station he estimates the Secret Service was deploying ”quadruple the assets” it did in July.

Terri Palmquist came to the rally from Bakersfield and said her 18-year-old daughter tried to dissuade her. “I just figure we need to not let fear control us,” she said.

She said she was not worried about her own safety.

“Honesty, I believe God’s got Trump, for some reason. I do. So we’re rooting for him.”

Associated Press writers Smyth and Colvin reported from Butler, and Gomez Licon from Fort Lauderdale, Fa.