BUTLER, Pa. — An undaunted former President Donald Trump returned Saturday to the Butler Farm Show grounds in Pennsylvania, where he came within a quarter inch of death just three months ago.
“A very big thank you to Pennsylvania. We love, Pennsylvania, and as I was saying —,” Trump said to a thunderous applause, while standing in front of bulletproof glass at the exact spot where he was shot nearly three months ago.
“Tonight, I return to Butler in the aftermath of tragedy and heartache to deliver a simple message to the people of Pennsylvania and to the people of America.
“Our movement to make America great again stands stronger, prouder, more united, more determined and nearer to victory than ever before.”
Flanked by top MAGA stars, Trump hoped to galvanize his supporters in the crucial battleground state and transform the tragic memory of July 13 into a message of resilience, proving that he and his movement are more alive than ever, even as security concerns loom large.
Supporters flocked to the showgrounds hours before Trump’s arrival, and Pennsylvania State Police officials estimated the crowd at 21,000 people.
“We never finished what we were supposed to do,” Trump, 78, had teased during an interview with NewsNation this week. “That day when I was shot, I said, we’re coming back.”
“We’re going to make a new memory in Butler, Pennsylvania. And this will mark the moment that this election was won for Donald J. Trump. Let’s send him back to the White House,” Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump proclaimed during her remarks before the 45th president took the stage.
Last time, the rally ended in horror.
With blood dripping down his face, Trump iconically pumped his fist up in defiance and urged his supporters to “fight, fight, fight” as the Secret Service whisked him away.
The would-be assassin’s bullet clipped his right ear, with Trump saved by a slight turn of his head as he spoke.
Trump provided a heartfelt homage to Corey Comperatore, the retired firefighter in the stands who was struck by the would-be assassin’s errant bullets, along two others injured in the bloodbath in western Pennsylvania.
Comperatore, 50, was attempting to shield his wife and daughters from the gunfire.
His wife Helen and his daughters Allyson and Kaylee were among his family members set to join the former president as special guests during his return Saturday.
David Dutch, 57, one of the two rallygoers injured alongside James Copenhaver, 74, was also a special guest, as were a handful of other July 13 attendees and first responders.
Other key guests included GOP vice presidential nominee and Ohio Sen. JD Vance, former first son Eric Trump and his wife and Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump, and tech mogul Elon Musk.
Secret Service agents spent weeks scrambling to ensure that there wouldn’t be a repeat of the security failures that enabled gunman Matthew Thomas Crooks, 20, to crawl up a nearby roof about 130 yards away from Trump and fire off eight rounds.
Ahead of Saturday’s rally, law enforcement was seen combing the roof that Crooks used as his perch and positioning semi-trailers to block the line of sight to the stage.
Trump supporters poured into the fairgrounds hours ahead of time in anticipation of hearing from the former president, especially in light of the July attack.
“It was horrifying,” recalled John Burkert, 46, a behavioral health specialist at Butler Memorial Hospital, where Trump was taken.
“I actually stood up with the shots [fired], not thinking that it’s shots, just to see what is going on. And then I see Trump go down,” he added. “My daughter would not return today because of the trauma.”
The Pennsylvanian is backing Trump on Nov. 5 because of his concerns about the economy.
For the most part, there was an aura of excitement palpable on the fairgrounds and attendees tended to downplay any concerns about safety.
“I actually was not even concerned about coming here because I felt this was going to be the safest of them all to go,” Tammy Bodenweber, 54, a bookkeeper from upstate New York who drove seven hours to attend.
She was particularly excited about the special guests like Vance.
Evangelical Christians who were at the rally, couldn’t help but thank God for Trump’s survival. Dan Beazley, 63, from Northville, Michigan, told The Post “We believe God saved him for a purpose.”
Several rallygoers were also spotted trying to raise money to help communities ravaged by Hurricane Helene’s rampage through Florida, Georgia and North Carolina late last month.
“Take a minute to help the people of North Carolina. FEMA’s not helping them, but we can,” Marty Best, 54, from Allegheny Township in Butler County, was heard yelling. “We can fill in the gaps.”
The July 13 assassination attempt marked the first time a would-be assassin drew blood from a current or former US president since the 1981 attempt by John Hinckley Jr. against President Ronald Reagan.
“I’m not supposed to be here, I’m supposed to be dead,” Trump told The Post the day after his brush with death.
Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned later that month amid a wave of pressure and a major reckoning for the protective agency.
Scores of investigations into what went awry are underway, including from congressional committees and government agencies.
The agency has taken a variety of steps to bolster Trump’s protection, including erecting bulletproof glass around him during outdoor rallies.
Congress has marshaled more funding and resources for the Secret Service.
But everyone is holding their breath, hoping that nothing goes wrong amid fears of copycats.
“With all the hatred they have spewed and President Trump, it was only a matter of time before somebody tried to kill him,” Vance reflected to the packed venue before Trump took to the podium.
“At this exact spot nearly three months ago, we thought, President Trump was going to lose his life. But God still has a plan for him just like he still has a plan for the United States of America,” he later said.
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe has partly attributed the failures of July 13 to the absence of “clear guidance or direction to our local law enforcement partners” about how to secure the perimeter.
On Sept. 15, another would-be assassin — Ryan Wesley Routh, 58 — was confronted by the Secret Service at Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach, Fla.
Law enforcement managed to detain him and alleges that while he didn’t manage to get off a shot, he had a clear motivation to kill the GOP nominee.
Beyond those two attempts, prosecutors have claimed in court documents that the government foiled an attempt by the Iranians to kill Trump, who ordered the 2020 strike against late Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Gen. Qasem Soleimani.
Having survived two very well-publicized assassination attempts, Trump has acknowledged that he is “always worried” about his personal safety, but he’s been adamant that he won’t cower in fear.
“I don’t think we should be stopped by someone with severe mental problems or whatever his problem was,” Trump told Fox News in July about his intent to go back to Butler.
Trump’s very symbolic and emotional bid to finish “what we were supposed to do” in Butler months later comes amid a dramatically different dynamic in the 2024 contest.
At the time of the July 13 rally, Trump had been riding high, buoyed by President Biden’s disastrous debate performance just two weeks prior.
A mutiny was underway within the Democratic Party to depose Biden as the nominee, and Trump was dominating polls.
Privately, his top advisers were feeling very confident about his prospects of victory.
But eight days after the assassination attempt, Biden, 81, opted to bow out of the race and pass the baton to Vice President Kamala Harris, who rapidly closed the gap with Trump. Now the two are locked in a very tight matchup that many pollsters feel is too close to call.
Still, one thing remains the same — Pennsylvania is the greatest prize of the seven major battleground states, with 19 Electoral College votes.
Both campaigns are desperate to win the Keystone State.
Saturday’s rally in Butler comes exactly one month before Election Day.
