Trump returns to site of assassination attempt in Pennsylvania
World
Trump returns to site of assassination attempt in Pennsylvania
BUTLER, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Saturday will return to the rural Pennsylvania site where he was nearly assassinated for a rally in the critical battleground state exactly one month before the Nov. 5 election
Trump ally Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and owner of social media platform X, will attend the rally. It will be the first time Musk has appeared at a Trump campaign event since endorsing the former president after the July 13 assassination attempt.
Trumpnarrowly escaped being shot in the head in Butler by a bullet that whizzed by and left his right ear bleeding, a near-miss that exposed serious gaps in security for the former president and led to heightened protection measures for his subsequent outdoor rallies.
In mid-morning, a large crowd was lined up to gain access to the event site at the local fairgrounds, and many were chanting the "fight, fight, fight" slogan that Trump used to rally his followers moments after he was shot.
Trailers were lined up around the site as a protective measure, blocking the view, for example, from the building where the shooter had opened fire.
Republican officials hope Trump's return to Butler will generate more support among his hard-core followers and drive up turnout for him in Pennsylvania, a state that he and his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, see as crucial to winning on Nov. 5.
"I'm going back to Butler because I feel I have an obligation to go back to Butler," Trump told the NewsNation cable news network earlier this week. "We never finished what we were supposed to do."
Trump also will be joined at the rally by 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.
Another attendee of the July rally, Shane Chesher, 37, said he would return on Saturday for what he expects will be an emotional event.
