Donald Trump returned to the campaign trail a week after the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, with a blistering attack on Democratic rivals Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Saturday.
At his first rally since the shocking shooting, and his first with Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, the new vice presidential candidate, Trump took to the stage wearing smaller earmuffs instead of the flashy white ones he wore at the Republican National Convention. He called the assassination attempt a “horrific event” and said it was “by the grace of God that I was standing before my supporters. I should not have been here, but the reality is something very special has happened.”
“I owe my life to immigrants,” Trump said, as he turned his head slightly to the right toward a chart about border crossings before a bullet grazed his head and ear. “I hope I never have to go through that again,” Trump added. He countered that opponents call him a “threat to democracy” but that he “took a bullet for democracy.”
Trump also addressed the turmoil in the Democratic Party’s leadership over the ongoing debate over whether Joe Biden should decline to run for reelection due to concerns about his age and mental health. “They don’t know who their candidate is, and neither do we,” Trump quipped. He called Biden a “frail old man.”
Trump appeared upbeat and in good spirits during the lengthy speech, saying he would rather be in Michigan than “sit on a boring beach and watch the waves crash” — another dig at Biden, who is currently recovering from COVID-19 at his Delaware beach home.
The former US president also predicted a landslide victory and asked the crowd whether they would prefer to face off against a loudly booed Vice President Kamala Harris or a cheering Mr Biden, but said he would also be open to taking on Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who he said had “done a terrible job”.
Trump hit on the usual themes, attacking electric cars, China and trade, and promising a massive crackdown on deportations. He spoke with his usual extreme rhetoric, especially on immigration, in dire terms of immigrant crime that reflects right-wing conspiracy theories.
But Trump also denied accusations that his bid for a second term would be influenced by Project 2025, a radical manifesto from the conservative Heritage Foundation that includes many figures close to Trump and his campaign.
He said the document was “created by forces that are far-right, very conservative, the polar opposite of the far-left. I know nothing about it and I don’t want to know anything about it.”
Vance, who took the stage before Trump, received a warm welcome despite the sports rivalry between his home state of Ohio and Michigan.
In his speech, Governor Vance criticized both Republicans and Democrats for failing so far to protect manufacturing jobs in Michigan and the United States. “Both parties had very serious problems before Trump came along,” he said.
While heightened security was expected after the Secret Service and local police in Butler, Pennsylvania, allowed 20-year-old would-be assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, to climb to a rooftop within view of the stage and fire several shots at the former president, a crowd of several thousand gathered outside the 12,000-seat Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to greet the former president.
Grand Rapids police officials declined to say whether they had deployed additional officers, referring questions to the White House Security Service, but unlike last week’s county fair grounds, Trump’s rally on Saturday was held in an enclosed arena that is easier to secure and without an outer area covered by local police, as was the Butler rally.
“What you’re going to see is the first event since last Saturday, so you’re going to see a visual increase in police presence, an unprecedented amount,” said Jason Russell, a former Secret Service agent. He told Michigan Live.
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Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom said the department has worked closely with federal partners in planning the event with “a robust operational plan, effective deployment of resources and an unwavering commitment to the safety of the communities we serve.”
John Short, chairman of the Kent, Michigan, Republican Party, told Michigan Live that the shooting won’t deter Trump supporters and that he expects it to “cause mayhem.”
The Trump campaign released an official update on Crooks’ injury on Saturday. Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas, who served as Trump’s White House physician, said Saturday that the bullet from Crooks’ gun “struck him directly above his right ear, just before entering his skull,” causing a wound about two centimeters wide.
Jackson said the wound was healing, but the former president was still bleeding and needed an ear bandage. “The wound itself was wide and blunt, so no stitches were required,” he wrote.
Michigan is one of the few must-win states for both Trump and Biden. Average of recent polls Trump leads Biden by 4 percentage points, 46% to 42%. This is consistent with patterns in other key battleground states, especially after Biden’s dismal performance in the debate three weeks ago triggered a wave of panic within the party about his chances of winning. Nationally, Trump is ahead in head-to-head polls against Biden.
Supporters began arriving at the rally as early as Friday afternoon, and by noon Saturday the line to see Trump stretched six blocks, according to local reports.
“I think it’s amazing. It shows how strong he is. We’re so proud of him. If they couldn’t pull it off, no one would expect them to be here like this,” said Julie Bryant, an advocate from Marshall, Michigan. He told Michigan Live“We’re just here to support him, especially after what he’s been through.”
Supporter Adam Salton, who said he had been in line since 6 a.m., said: “It’s not about right or left. This is about Trump. This is about us. He may be on the golf course right now, he may be with his family, but he’s here for us. So I’m standing here for eight hours for him. This is for us.”
