Donald Trump shows mixed feelings about returning to shooting

Donald Trump opened his second rally Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania, by thanking members of the U.S. Secret Service who “threw their bodies on top of mine” and saved his life in an assassination attempt in July.

“Without even thinking about their own lives,” he added. “They were on me so quickly, and they didn’t have the slightest doubt.”

Trump’s rally marked his first return to the city since 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight shots at him while he spoke on stage. He injured his ear and killed off-duty firefighter Corey Comperatore.

“This field is now a monument to our first responders, to the resilience of our fellow citizens, and to the sacrifice of a loving and devoted father,” Trump said, referring to Comperatore. He then asked the audience for a minute of silence and singing in honor of the comperatore, whose widow was also present at the event.

Before Trump took the stage, he was preceded by his son Eric Trump and his wife, RNC co-chair Laura, who also introduced conservative voter registration influencer Scott Pressler.

In total, Trump invited around 60 “special guests” to the rally, including his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, and Tesla billionaire Elon Musk, who is reportedly bankrolling Trump’s third presidential campaign and plans to effectively run the federal government (and ( Lay off tens of thousands of federal workers) as head of “government efficiency” if Trump is elected.

“As you can see, I’m not just MAGA. I am Dark MAGA,” Musk said as he took the podium and called for the protection of free speech, the Second Amendment, and urged people to vote as it was a “must-win” situation.

“Register to vote and get everyone you know and everyone you don’t know to vote,” Musk said. “Test people now. If not, this will be the last choice. That’s my prediction.”

Several Trump supporters in Congress also attended the event, including Republican Rep. Mike Kelly, chairman of the House task force investigating the security failures that led to Trump’s assassination attempt. The former and possibly future president also invited a number of county sheriffs from across Pennsylvania, the largest of the key battleground states where the election will be decided.

After destroying Joe Biden by default in the debate that ended the president’s re-election bid, Trump appeared to be headed for an election victory after literally dodging the bullet of a would-be assassin. Just two days later, with a lead in the polls, he appeared as a martyr at his party’s nomination convention in Milwaukee.

But now, 31 days before Election Day, he is in a dead heat with Kamala Harris. Saturday’s rally was intended to put the president in the lead. Despite severe staffing and logistical limitations at the Secret Service, the Trump campaign heavily promoted the event.

At another rally in rural Pennsylvania on Saturday, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) told hundreds of Democrats that it all depends on his state. “Pennsylvania elects president and that’s why we’re counting on counties like Beaver to go above and beyond and deliver Harris-Walz in 2024,” he said.