Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is set to return to the rural Pennsylvania site where he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt on Saturday. This rally in the critical battleground state comes exactly one month before the November 5th election. Trump's ally, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and owner of social media platform X, will be attending the event. This marks Musk's first appearance at a Trump campaign event since endorsing the former president following the July 13th assassination attempt.
Trump barely escaped being shot in the head when a bullet narrowly missed him, leaving his right ear bleeding. This near-miss highlighted significant security lapses for the former president, prompting enhanced protection measures for his subsequent outdoor rallies. In the early morning, a large crowd gathered at the local fairgrounds, eagerly awaiting entry to the event site. Many were chanting the "fight, fight, fight" slogan that Trump used to rally his supporters just moments after the shooting.
Security trailers were positioned around the site to obstruct views, particularly from the building where the shooter had opened fire. This was the first of two attempts on Trump's life. On September 15th, a gunman concealed himself for nearly 12 hours at Trump's golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, with the intent to kill him. However, a US Secret Service agent patrolling the course ahead of Trump thwarted the attempt.
Republican officials are hopeful that Trump's return to Butler will bolster support among his core followers and increase turnout in Pennsylvania, a state seen as pivotal for both Trump and his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, in the November 5th election. "I'm going back to Butler because I feel I have an obligation to go back to Butler," Trump stated in an interview with NewsNation earlier this week. "We never finished what we were supposed to do."
Joining Trump at the rally will be his vice presidential running mate, Senator JD Vance, and the family of firefighter Corey Comperatore, who was fatally shot during the attempt on Trump's life. Shane Chesher, a 37-year-old attendee of the July rally, plans to return on Saturday, expecting an emotionally charged event. Chesher, who witnessed the assassination attempt from a seat on the stage behind Trump, is still grappling with the incident.
The Butler shooting sparked widespread criticism of the US Secret Service and led to the resignation of its director. Concerns were raised about how the 20-year-old suspect, Thomas Matthew Crooks, managed to access a nearby rooftop with a direct line of sight to where Trump was speaking. A Secret Service investigation uncovered communication gaps and a lack of diligence prior to the shooting. In response, the agency implemented additional security measures for Trump, including the use of bulletproof glass at outdoor rallies.
Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi stated that there had been "comprehensive changes and enhancements to our communications capabilities, resourcing, and protective operations" ahead of Saturday's rally. Trump attributes his survival to turning his head to read a chart on a large video screen. With blood dripping down his face, he raised a fist and shouted "fight" to his supporters, a powerful image from that day. He wore a white bandage on his wounded ear for several days following the shooting.
