Trump returns with Vance and Musk to Pennsylvania, the site of the assassination attempt

BUTLER, Pa. (AP) — Donald Trump plans to return Saturday to the site where a In July, a gunman tried to murder himwhile the former president puts aside what is now almost constant worry for his physical safety, to fulfill a promise — “really a commitment,” he said recently — to the People from Butler, Pennsylvania.

“I'll probably start by saying, 'Like I said…'” the Republican presidential candidate joked with some dark humor about a speech that was cut short when a bullet hit Trump's ear and he was dragged off the stage – Fist up – and blood dripped down his face.

Trump's vice presidential candidate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, will also be on hand at the Butler Farm Show site, as will billionaire Elon Musk, as the campaign highlights the headline potential of his return with Just 30 more days in her close election campaign against Democrats Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. A billboard on the way to the rally read “We Trust in Musk” and showed his photo.

The Trump campaign predicted tens of thousands of people would attend the event, which was billed as a “tribute to the American spirit.” Hotels, motels and inns in the area were said to be full and some rally participants arrived on Friday.

Hundreds of people lined up as the sun rose on Saturday. A monument to firefighters Corey Comperatorewho died while protecting family members from gunfire, was placed in the stands, his firefighter's jacket on display surrounded by flowers. There was a significantly increased security presence with armed law enforcement officers in camouflage uniforms on rooftops.

“President Trump looks forward to returning to Butler, Pennsylvania to honor the victims of that tragic day,” said Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt. “The willingness of Pennsylvanians to join President Trump in his return to Butler represents the strength and resilience of the American people.”

Trump wanted to use the 5 p.m. Eastern time event to remember Comperatore, a volunteer firefighter who was struck and killed at the July 13 rally, and to recognize the two other injured rally participants, David Dutch and James Copenhaver . She and Trump were hit when 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, opened fire from an unsecured roof nearby before being fatally shot by snipers.

The building from which Crooks fired was completely obscured by tractor trailers, a large lawn and a fence. Most of the stands were now on the sides rather than behind Trump.

This includes how Crooks managed to outmaneuver law enforcement that day and climb to the roof of a building that was within firing range of the ex-president many questions that remain unanswered about the Secret Service's worst security failure in decades. Another is his motive.

Butler County District Attorney Rich Goldinger told WPXI-TV this week that “everyone is redoubling their efforts to make sure this is done safely and correctly.”

Mike Slupe, the county's sheriff, told the station he estimated the Secret Service would “deploy four times its resources” as it did in July. The agency has faced a painful reckoning over its handling of two assassination attempts on Trump.

Butler County, on the western edge of a coveted presidential swing state, is a Trump stronghold. He won the county in both 2016 and 2020 with about 66% of the vote. About 57% of the county's 139,000 registered voters are Republicans, compared to about 29% Democrats and 14% others.

Chris Harpster, 30, of Tyrone, Pennsylvania, was accompanied by his girlfriend when he returned to the scene Saturday. Of that day in July, he said, “I was scared” — as were his parents, who watched at home and texted him immediately after the shooting.

The increased security measures made him feel better, as did the presence of his girlfriend, who was taking part in a rally for the first time. Harpster said he would vote for Trump for a third time in November based on the Republican nominee's stance on immigration, guns, abortion and energy. Harpster said he hopes Pennsylvania goes Republican, particularly out of concern for jobs in the gas and oil industries.

Other The townspeople were divided about the value of Trump's return. Heidi Priest, a Butler resident who started a Facebook group supporting Harris, said Trump's latest visit has inflamed political tensions in the city.

“Whenever you see people supporting him and being happy about his presence, it scares the people who don’t want to see him re-elected,” she said.

But Trump has to do it increase voter turnout in conservative strongholds like Butler County, a predominantly white, rural-suburban community, if he wants to win Pennsylvania in November. Harris has also focused her campaign efforts on Pennsylvania and has repeatedly campaigned there as part of her campaign aggressive use in critical swing states. ___

Associated Press writer Adriana Gomez Licon in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., contributed to this report.