Trump holds first rally after attempt on life, Vance by his side

Grand Rapids, Michigan: Donald Trump has held his first campaign rally since surviving an attempted assassination, returning to the battleground state of Michigan alongside his new running mate.

“It was exactly one week ago, even to the hour, even to the minute,” Trump said, reflecting on the July 13 shooting in Pennsylvania that left him with a bloodied ear, killed one supporter in the crowd and left two others injured.

Donald Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan.Credit: AP

“I stand before you only by the grace of almighty God,” he said, the white gauze on his ear now replaced by a bandage matching his skin tone. “I shouldn’t be here right now.”

Trump was joined by his running mate, Ohio senator J.D. Vance, at the pair’s first event together since they became the GOP’s nominees at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

“I find it hard to believe that a week ago, an assassin tried to take Donald Trump’s life, and now we have got a hell of a crowd in Michigan to welcome him back on the campaign trail,” Vance said before Trump’s arrival.

Michigan is one of the handful of crucial swing states expected to determine the outcome of November’s presidential election. Trump narrowly won the state by just over 10,000 votes in 2016, but Democrat Joe Biden flipped it back in 2020, winning by a margin of 154,000 votes on his way to the presidency.

After appearing uncharacteristically subdued and emotional during the Republican convention, Trump returned to rally mode, lashing out at his Democratic rivals, repeating his lies about the 2020 election, and peppering his address with jokes that sparked laughter from an enthusiastic audience.

At one point, Trump glanced at a screen showing him from an unusual angle and joked about his comb-over.

“That’s a severe sucker. What’s with that one?” he said. “I apologise. Man! I looked up there, I said, ‘Whoa!’ That’s like a work of art!”

At another point, as he invited a supporter on stage, he quipped “he does not carry guns!”

Trump also talked about the shooting, acting out how he’d turned his head to look up at a chart of southern border crossings projected on a giant screen and narrowly dodging the bullet that hit his ear.

“I owe immigration my life,” he said. “It’s true.”

Hours before he took the stage, Trump’s supporters crowded the streets of downtown Grand Rapids ahead of the former president’s remarks. Supporters began lining up the morning the day before, and by Saturday afternoon (Sunday AEST), the line stretched close to a mile from the entrance of the 12,000-seat Van Andel Arena.

Many in the packed arena were seen wearing shirts featuring the image of Trump, on stage, after he was shot, pumping his fist in the air, along with the usual red “Make America Great Again” hats.

Mike Gaydos, who travelled from Indiana with his three sons to attend the rally, said he didn’t consider himself a “huge” Trump supporter in the past but wanted to show support for the former president following his attempted assassination.

“We can’t allow something like that to collar us,” he said. “Bravery is what I thought he showed that day and I want to show my sons about bravery as well.”

Numerous streets, closed to traffic as an additional security precaution, were dotted with vendors selling food and apparel. Among them was a vendor from North Carolina who said he had spent the night making shirts featuring “Trump Vance ’24”.

Downtown Grand Rapids also had a significant police presence, with officers stationed on nearly every block, while others patrolled on horseback and bicycles. The heightened security outside the venue created a tense environment, with some attendees mentioning that drones overhead had made them nervous. The event was held indoors – a change from last week in Pennsylvania, where the shooter fired from a rooftop outside the security perimeter.

Attendees were required to pass through a metal detector upon entering the downtown Grand Rapids indoor arena, yet the presence of security inside appeared consistent with previous events.

Trump acknowledges the crowd at his campaign rally in Michigan.Credit: AP

“This is the tightest I’ve ever seen the security,” said Renee White, who said she has been to 33 Trump rallies. “We usually can bring in some small bags but today I had to just leave stuff out there.”

White was seated behind the podium at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where the gunman opened fire from a nearby rooftop. She described the shooting as “surreal” but said that it wouldn’t stop her from going to rallies.

“If I’m going to be taken out, at least I’m doing something I love to do, right?” said White.

Democrats have dominated recent elections in Michigan, but Republicans see an opening in the state as Democrats are increasingly divided about whether Biden should drop out of the race. Biden has insisted he is not quitting, and has attempted to turn the focus back towards Trump, saying on Friday that Trump’s acceptance speech at the Republican convention showcased a “dark vision for the future”.

Trump, at Saturday’s rally, polled the crowd on who they’d like to see as his opponent, with cheers for Biden and loud boos when Trump asked about Vice President Kamala Harris.

Later, Trump pushed back against efforts to cast him as an extremist, even as he has vowed mass deportations and threatened retribution against his political enemies.

“They keep saying, ‘He’s a threat to democracy ...’ Last week I took a bullet for democracy,” he said to rousing cheers.

Trump also again tried to distance himself from the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, a policy and personnel plan for a second Trump term crafted by a host of former Trump administration officials.

Trump blasted the project, which has become a centrepiece of Biden’s campaign against Trump, as “severe right” and “seriously extreme”, just like the “radical left”.

“I don’t know anything about it,” he insisted.

AP

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