The Republican leader of Pennsylvania’s second-most populous county said Friday that the way former President Trump handled the assassination attempt on him likely won him the support of critics and undecided voters alike.
Allegheny County Republican Party Chairman Sam DeMarco, whose county has been shaken by the news that shooter Thomas Crooks lives in the county, did not attend the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, but shared his real-time reaction to the news.
“I was getting ready to go downtown to see some friends and I was listening to Fox News and I heard the president had been shot and I was just shocked,” he said. “I couldn’t believe this was happening. [that] A security flaw could allow this to happen.”
But DeMarco said it’s Trump’s response, immortalized in the iconic image of the Republican presidential candidate pumping his fist and mouthing the word “fight,” and his courage to continue campaigning that will live on.
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Donald Trump and Allegheny County Republican Chairman Sam DeMarco III (Getty Images || Fox News Digital)
“I think when President Trump stood up right after the shooting with the Secret Service and men and women hanging on to him, pumped his fist in the air to show the crowd he was OK and urged them to keep fighting for this country, I think he won votes from people across the country who might not have made up their minds or supported him yet,” DeMarco said.
“I think he’s just come back even stronger now that he’s come back. [Bedminster, N.J.] One day, following the Republican Party [National] The convention went ahead as scheduled and concluded last night with over an hour of speeches.”
“How can anyone live like that after someone shoots them and nearly kills them?”
DeMarco also cited UFC president Dana White’s comments when introducing Trump on Thursday, saying the former president “has a tough guy job” but that White “has never met a tougher guy than Trump.”
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Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump reacts as multiple gunshots ring out during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, USA, on July 13, 2024. (Reuters/Brendan McDiarmid)
DeMarco said the past few days have shown Trump to be a strong, unifying figure.
“President Trump wants all of us here to experience prosperity and achieve the American dream. He wants what’s best for all of us and all of our families, and that’s why he’s reached out,” he said.
“He’s explaining to the public what he wants to do. So I don’t know how well he’s united the country so far, but I know he’s uniting the Republican Party because the public supports him.”
DeMarco also paid tribute to Butler County firefighter Corey Comperatore, who was killed by Crooks at the rally, and two other men from Butler County who remain hospitalized.
David Duch and James Copenhaver remain hospitalized, and he paid verbal tribute to Duch’s service in the Marine Corps and to Copenhaver, whom he has called a “great man” for many years. [GOP] I do “volunteer” work near Moon, Pennsylvania.
“Their recovery is going to be a long and difficult one,” he said, “so I just ask everyone watching this, please pray for their speedy recovery and for their family.”
The chairman added that he and many local residents were shocked and disappointed that Mr Crooks was living among them.
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A boat sails along the river in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on September 12, 2020. (Justin Merriman/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“I know security agencies are still trying to determine his motives,” he said.
“Was it a political thing? [whether] “I think anybody who loses their cool certainly has a motive for this, but I put out a press release saying I believe heated political rhetoric very likely played a role.”
DeMarco said he remains optimistic about the upcoming general election, which will be held in Allegheny County, which has the state’s second-largest Democratic city but also the most Republican of any county.
““Allegheny County is a tough county,” said DeMarco, the city councilman who is the only Republican to hold countywide office.
“My job, and my expectation for Republicans, is to bring together Republicans, independents and moderate Democrats to support President Trump and elect Dave McCormick as Pennsylvania’s next U.S. Senator in November.”
“And to elect council members like Rob Mercuri, who is running in the 17th District, and James Hayes, who is running in the 12th District. [Rep.] Summer Lee, [D-Pa.] “I’m a member of the ‘Squad,’ because President Trump, once he takes office in November, is going to need a Republican Senate and a Republican Congress to move forward with bills and legislation that will make America great again.”
