Last night, Donald Trump returned to Butler, PA, the scene of his attempted assassination in July, for a massive rally.
Just as the former president had promised, he began with “As I was saying,” before discussing the attempt on his life.
“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,” Trump said.
“For 16 harrowing seconds during the gunfire, time stopped as this vicious monster unleashed pure evil from his sniper’s perch, not so far away, but by the hand of Providence and the grace of God, that villain did not succeed in his goal.
“He did not come close. He did not stop our movement. He did not break [out] our spirit. He did not shake our unyielding resolve to save America from the evils of poverty, hatred, and destruction. Yet we are here this evening in record numbers.”
“I will never yield, not even in the face of death itself,” he added.
THANK YOU BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA!
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 6, 2024
Our movement to Make America Great Again standsstronger, prouder, more united, more determined, and nearer to victory than ever before. pic.twitter.com/jC5NYNiSD6
Trump held a solemn silence for Corey Comperatore, the firefighter and veteran who was killed by a stray bullet protecting his wife and daughter. The moment was timed to coincide exactly with when the shooting began at the previous rally. After the silence, a rendition of “Ave Maria” was performed.
Earlier, before the rally kicked off, Trump met the widow and family of Mr Comperatore. His firefighter’s uniform was placed in the same spot he had been standing when he was shot and killed, and remained in place throughout the rally.
Trump made no mention by name of the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks.
WOW. President Trump timed his speech so that at exactly 6:11pm ET, the very minute the shots rang out in Butler, PA 12 weeks ago killing Corey Comperatore, President Trump asks for a moment of silence followed by the singing of Ave Maria.
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) October 5, 2024
Chills. pic.twitter.com/loXf50pZfr
During his speech, Trump also spoke about his opponents’ efforts to sabotage his campaign, and told his supporters to expect those efforts to continue.
“We stand on the verge of the four greatest years of the history of our country. We can make these the four greatest years. We’ll turn it around so fast that your head will spin. With victory on November 5, we are going to redeem America’s promises and unlock the extraordinary future that is just within our reach.
“We’ve got to get there. They’ll drop all sorts of bombs. They’ll be hitting you, JD, they’ll be hitting me,” he said to his vice presidential pick, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), who was in attendance. “These people they’ll hit and hit. But I think we’ve almost become immune to it—we’ve become immune to it.”
Trump warned about the danger of “the enemy within,” and said that the threat posed to America from outside, by countries like Russia and China, paled into insignificance by comparison.
“I always say there’s an enemy from within and there’s an outside enemy. And if you’re smart, the outside enemy’s not gonna be a problem. Russia, China and North Korea—we’re not gonna have a problem… If you have not such a smart president, then it’s a problem. But we have an enemy from within, which I think is much more dangerous than the outside enemy.”