On July 13, former President Donald Trump was the victim of an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
On Oct. 5, the current candidate returned to Butler to take care of unfinished business. But this time, he was surrounded by ballistic glass. It was no shock that security was strengthened, as another attempt on Trump’s life was made on Sept. 15 at his Florida golf course.
Trump addressed the crowd saying, “Exactly 12 weeks ago this evening, on this very ground, a cold-blooded assassin aimed to silence me and to silence the greatest movement, MAGA, in the history of our country.”
He gave thanks to local law enforcement, honored David Dutch — a former Marine wounded by the assassin — and gave love to and an update on another victim, James Copenhager.
“And, of course, there’s one more hero who could not make it back here tonight because he is no longer with us,” Trump said of victim Corey Comperatore. “He was hit hard. And he gave his life to shield their lives. Every father and husband in America hopes that, if the time came, we would have what Corey had — tremendous courage, tremendous guts. And he wanted to protect his family, and he did protect his family.”
There was then a moment of silence at the exact moment that the shooting occurred. About halfway through the speech, Trump introduced prominent CEO and current owner of X, Elon Musk.
“We’re honored to be joined tonight by one of the people who is going to help us build this incredible future, and he is a truly incredible guy,” Trump said. “He saved free speech.”
When Musk took to the stage, he described himself as being “dark MAGA.” He then went on to note, “I think this election is the most important election of our lifetime. This is no ordinary election,” and “President Trump must win to preserve the Constitution. He must win to preserve democracy in America.” Before exiting, he encouraged those in the crowd to register to vote.
“…Elon, thank you very much. Incredible, incredible. What he says is true,” Trump said of Musk. Following topics discussed included his response to hurricane criticism, political commentary and, of course, the upcoming election.
“From this day forward, we will always put America first, and we will take back and save the United States,” he said in his closing remarks.
“We will make America wealthy again. We will make America healthy again. We will make America strong again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again. And we will make America great again,” he went on. “Thank you, Pennsylvania. God bless you. God bless you, Pennsylvania.”
ajones11@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @teamtrump, Instagram
