Former President Donald Trump spoke before a crowd of thousands in Butler County Saturday to recall his near-assassination on the same site in July and to pledge he would remain unbowed through the Nov. 5 election.
"This field is now a monument to the valor of our first responders, to the resilience of our citizens, and the sacrifice of a loving and devoted father," Trump said.
"Twelve weeks ago, we all took a bullet for America," Trump said, but added, "All of this will be for nothing if you don't get out and vote."
Seating was set aside in the memory of Corey Comperatore, a firefighter who was slain in the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump and memorialized Saturday by his fireman's uniform. Trump, who referred to Comperatore as "our beautiful Corey," lamented that he "is not with us tonight and he should be. ... He's become somewhat of a folk hero, I have to tell you."
Trump took time to praise the treatment provided at Butler Hospital and Allegheny General, saying that two other attendees wounded in the attack, David Dutch and James Copenhaver, survived because "the doctors did such an incredible job."
Trump appeared to be reading from his teleprompter for the first quarter-hour, deviating little from the prepared remarks — presumably to be ready to commemorate the very moment the shooting took place at 6:11 p.m. Trump marked it with a period of silence, followed by a performance of "Ave Maria" by opera singer Christopher Macchio.
But once Macchio concluded, Trump reverted to his typical rally form, with its familiar mix of bombast, aimless digressions and awards-banquet praise for allies in attendance. Saturday's speech also included occasional suggestions that Democrats may have sought to engineer his assassination.
His foes, he said had sought to thwart him in a number of ways "and who knows, maybe even tried to kill me."
Investigators have found no sign of a political motive by the Butler gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks. But Trump later referred vaguely to "an enemy from within, which I think is much more dangerous than an outside enemy."
Trump's hour-and-a-half-long address was interrupted for several minutes by a medical emergency in the audience. Trump paused while the audience broke out into singing the National Anthem. But when his speech resumed, it consisted of Trump's favorite topics: his performance in polls, his opposition to trans women competing in women's sports, and breezy economic promises that "we're going to boom like we never boomed before," thanks in part to fracking natural gas in Pennsylvania.
Trump was joined on stage for about six minutes by Tesla and Twitter/X owner Elon Musk, who told the audience that, "The true test of someone's character is how they behave under fire. And we have one president who couldn't climb a flight of stairs, and another who was fist-pumping after getting shot.
"President Trump must win to preserve the Constitution," Musk later added. "He must win to preserve democracy."
In his own speech, Trump alternated between dire warnings about the future and jokey asides about traveling to Mars. And at times he seemed to struggle with the dual nature of the event, a hybrid of memorial and campaign rally.
"We're here for a reason," he said an hour into the speech. "And that's to win, and to honor Corey. But Corey wants us to win too."
A warm-up program began four hours before Trump took the stage, including a parachute jump by the "Frog-X Parachute Team," a fly-by of Trump’s jet “Trump Force One,” and a live on-stage painting by conservative artist Scott Lobaido, which featured an American flag and Comperatore.
"You heard the shots, you saw the blood. We all feared the worst," said Trump's vice-presidential running mate, JD Vance. "But you knew everything would be okay when President Trump raised his fist in the air and shouted 'fight! fight!'"
Vance blamed Democrats for the shooting, and a second apparent attempt on Trump's life that took place last month at his Florida golf course.
"With all the hatred they had spewed at President Trump, it was only a matter of time before someone tried to kill him," Vance said. Noting that Democratic nominee Kamala Harris had accused Trump of attacking "the foundations of our democracy," Vance asked, "How dare you talk about threats to democracy? Donald Trump took a bullet for democracy. What the hell have you done?"
Vance's own rhetoric sometimes exceeded the boundaries of fact. He suggested at one point that federal aid to victims of Hurricane Helene would be just $750. That is false: $750 is the amount of an initial payment offered to provide immediate assistance to families while the government processes claims for additional funds.
Eric Trump, the former president's son, tied Democrats to the assassination attempt more explicitly, linking it to a broader conspiracy against his father. "They tried to smear us, they tried to bankrupt us. They came after us. They impeached him twice, they went after his Supreme Court justices. They weaponized the entire legal system. ... And then, guys, they tried to kill him. And it's because the Democratic Party — they can't do anything right."
Other rally attendees included members of Comperatore's family, Republican congressional representatives from the state, and a number of July 13 attendees. But some speakers said that the Trump supporters in the crowd deserved praise as well.
"The fact that all of you are here makes you all heroes, said James Sweetland, a physician who said he cared for Comperatore after Crooks sought to shoot Trump from the roof of a nearby building.
"We gather not just to commemorate but to celebrate the indomitable spirit of America right here in the heart of Butler County, Pennsylvania," said Sean Parnell, a veteran, author and a regular speaker at Trump campaign events who was seated near the former president during the shooting.
"I know the sound of gunfire, and how it can change the fate of one man or a nation," Parnell said. “When faced with peril, you stood firm. When chaos threatened your first responders — our everyday heroes — you did not falter. Our first responders didn't either."
"You didn't just witness history; you made it,” Parnell said. “When panic could have reigned. Instead I saw stalwart courage, and I heard Donald Trump's voice echo 'fight fight fight.' … I ask you to channel that indomitable spirit into voting and winning."
Trump supporters were streaming into the area for hours in advance. Many had been in attendance on July 13 itself, and said they felt compelled to return.
Among them was Sam Bruno of Ambridge, Pa., who had been standing in the sun for nearly seven hours at the July rally but left an hour before Trump arrived because the heat was too intense. The free water bottles being given out were so hot, he said, “you could make tea in it.”
On the way out, Bruno said, “I walked right past where the shooter was on that building that day.”
Bruno — who was wearing a shirt that read “You Missed” with Trump pictured on it to Saturday’s rally — said one of his friends was shot and injured at the rally. The friend, who he didn’t want to name, was doing better but his health condition had been pretty bad.
“I don't feel lucky,” he said. “I would have liked to have been there. I couldn't have helped, but it would have been nice to try.”
