BUTLER, Penn. Hundreds of thousands of followers of past president Donald Trump gathered in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday to see their candidate returning to the site of his fatal headshot just weeks ago.
More than 100, 000 supporters reportedly showed up at the protest, according to the Trump campaign, many of whom said they needed to go because they thought they needed to show disobedience and glory in the face of Trump’s planned assassin, who killed one and injured two people in addition to the former president at the initial Butler rally on July 13;
” If you believe in God, you know that a magic happened that day, and it’s triumphant”, Vicki Barnum of Collier Township, Pennsylvania, told The Federalist. We all want to go in the same way, and we think our support system is both larger than the state and ours.
She remarked,” We really need to get a walk and let our voices remain heard.”
Rallygoers gathered early in the morning to enter the venue and spent time in the sun before Trump spoke in the night. Many of these people were also present at the July 13 march, and many of them were from outside the state to hear Trump talk.
” That affair itself — the demise of Corey, the attempted assassination of Trump, two others in the audience that were wounded — I feel that tragedy, July 13, was a turning point for America, and that’s what truly united the MAGA fans up”, Nima Poursohi of Burlington County, New Jersey, who attended the July march, told The Federalist. ” I see people from all different state across America around right now.”
However, as the march was full of joy and expectation, there was also mourning for Corey Comperatore’s passing while defending his wife and daughters at the July 13 protest.
” Every father and husband in America hopes that if the day came, we had had what Corey had: great courage, great guts, and he wanted to protect his home, and he did protect his family”, Trump said of Comperatore, whose home was in attendance, during his conversation.
Many people also lamented the ostensibly divided state of the nation, which is made worse by Democrat rhetoric that encourages political violence.
” We hoped that our opponents would remember that before we are Democrats or before we are Republicans, we are Americans, but sadly, our opponents have not heeded Abraham Lincoln’s words and listened to the better angels of our nature”, Sen. J. D. Vance, R-Ohio, the Republican nominee for vice president, said in his rally speech. ” Even after that terrible assassination attempt that took one man’s life and nearly took many others, they continue to use dangerous, inflammatory rhetoric. The media has continued to call Donald Trump, the guy who actually won his primary, a threat to democracy”.
Donald Trump poses an existential threat to our democracy, according to a Democrat senator. Kamala Harris said that he was attacking’ the foundations of our democracy,'” he continued. I believe you will all agree with me when I ask Kamala Harris about threats to democracy. Donald Trump took a bullet for democracy. What the hell have you done”?
Supporters showed a united front hours before Vance took the stage. Before the rally started, the event started in total silence as tens of thousands of people removed their hats and prayed together while attendees were bustling around, talking among one another, and waiting in long lines for food. The Pledge of Allegiance was then recited in concert by Trump supporters, who also sang” The Star-Spangled Banner” to honor the nation.
” As soon as I pulled in, it was just really emotional. You know, everyone is here for the right reason”, Denise Hernandez of Youngstown, Ohio, told The Federalist. ” We all love America, and we realize that it’s been going in the wrong direction. And, you know, the former president is a patriot, and J. D. Vance is a patriot, and I really think that they could make America great again”.
She continued,” I’m very humbled that the former president has decided to return here.” ” I think it’s a great testament to who he is,” he said.
Trump began his speech as though he were returning to where he left off on July 13 by displaying the now-famous chart listing illegal border crossings under the Biden administration, which he credits in part for saving his life.
” As I was saying …”, Trump began, to raucous applause. ” 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”.
” 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 that villain did not succeed in his goal because of the power of providence and the grace of God,” Trump continued. ” Did not come close. He did not stop our movement. He did not break our spirit”.
The speech continued to focus on Butler, first responders, and those killed or injured in July. In the middle of Trump’s speech, opera singer Christopher Macchio sang” Ave Maria” after a moment of silence for Comperatore.
” Over the past eight years, those who want to stop us from having this future have slandered, impeached, indicted, tried to remove me from the ballot, and who knows, tried to kill me.” But I’ve never stopped fighting for you, and I never will”, Trump told his supporters.  ,
” And in turn, you have always stood with me. You have always supported me no matter what. You were able to see what was happening. You witnessed the fraud and deception. You saw everything that went on”, he said.
Barnum argued that Trump’s speech and his return to Butler show how eager he is to see the country prosper.
” It’s amazing. It’s the whole him standing up and ‘ fight, fight, fight,'” she said. ” Even Democrats, even people that do n’t agree with him — you ca n’t negate the fact that the man loves this country, that he’s fighting for something that’s good, and that he is literally risking his life for this country”.
” He’s giving up a lot to do this, and he’s doing it for us”, she continued. ” I think he’s making a huge point in saying,’ I’m not afraid. I’m not going to back down and, and are you with me?’ And we are”.
Breccan F. Thies is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. He previously covered issues of education and culture for Breitbart News and the Washington Examiner. He is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow and holds a degree from the University of Virginia. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.