Former US President Donald Trump plans to return on Saturday to the site where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July, putting aside what are now near-constant concerns about his physical safety in order to keep his promise — “a commitment, really,” as he put it. He said recently – to the people of Butler, Pennsylvania.
“Maybe I’ll start by saying, ‘As I was saying…'” the Republican presidential nominee joked, in a bit of dark humor about a speech that was cut short when a bullet hit Trump’s ear and he was escorted off the stage — with fists. High – with blood dripping down his face.
Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, will also be on hand at the Butler Farm fairgrounds, as will billionaire Elon Musk, as the campaign plays up the headline-generating potential for his return just 30 days before their tight campaign ends. Against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
The campaign expects tens of thousands of people to attend what is being promoted as a “tribute to the American spirit.” Local hotels, motels and inns were reportedly packed, and some eager participants had already arrived on Friday, according to a local Facebook page.
“President Trump looks forward to returning to Butler, Pennsylvania, to honor the victims of that tragic day,” said Carolyn Leavitt, a spokeswoman for the Trump campaign. “Pennsylvania’s willingness to join President Trump in his return to Butler represents the strength and resilience of the American people.”
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Trump will use the event at 5 p.m. ET to remember Corey Comperatore, a volunteer firefighter who was injured and killed in the July 13 march, and to recognize two other marchers, David Deutch and James Copenhaver. They and Trump were wounded when the shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, opened fire from a nearby unsecured roof before snipers shot him dead.
How Crooks was able to outrun law enforcement that day and scramble over a building within walking distance of the former president is among the countless questions that remain unanswered about the Secret Service’s worst security failure in decades. The other reason is his motive, which has never been determined.
“Everyone is redoubling their efforts to make sure this is done safely and properly,” Butler County District Attorney Rich Goldinger told WPXI-TV this week.
County Sheriff Mike Sloop told the station that he estimates the Secret Service — which has undergone a painful review over its handling of two attempts on Trump’s life — is deploying “four times as many assets” as it did in July.
Butler County, located on the western edge of a presidential swing state, is a Trump stronghold. He won the county — where turnout is about 80 percent — with about 66 percent of the vote in both 2016 and 2020. About 57 percent of Butler County’s 139,000 registered voters are Republicans, compared to about 29 percent of Republican voters. Democrats and 14 percent are something else.
Three months later, the townspeople were divided over the value of his return. Heidi Priest, a Butler resident who created a Facebook group supporting Harris, said Trump’s recent visit has raised political tensions in the city.
“Whenever you see people supporting him and excited to have him here, it scares away people who don’t want him re-elected,” she said.
But Trump needs to increase voter turnout in conservative strongholds like Butler County, an overwhelmingly white rural and suburban community, if he wants to win Pennsylvania in November. Harris also targeted her campaign efforts in Pennsylvania, ralliing there repeatedly as part of her aggressive outreach in critical swing states.
& Edition 2024 The Canadian Press
