Trump rallies at site of failed attack

BUTLER

Donald Trump defiantly returned on Oct. 5 to the site of a campaign rally where an assassin's bullet almost killed him in July, questioning whether his opponents were responsible and declaring he would "never quit."

"Exactly 12 weeks ago this evening, on this very ground, a cold-blooded assassin aimed to silence me," the Republican candidate told tens of thousands of supporters after taking the stage behind bulletproof glass.

Calling the gunman a "vicious monster," Trump vowed he would "never quit... never bend... never break" to cheers of "fight, fight, fight" from the crowd.

Trump's much-hyped return to Butler, Pennsylvania, came exactly one month before the Nov. 5 presidential election, the outcome of which President Joe Biden has suggested might not be peaceful.

Trump lashed out at his political opponents, calling them the "enemy within" who had pushed to indict him and "who knows, maybe even tried to kill me."

"I wasn't supposed to make it," he said ominously.

Security was noticeably tighter than Trump's July rally, with sniper squads atop surrounding buildings, and a surveillance drone deployed overhead.

"There's a lot going on that's unnerving," said Heather Hughes, 43, who had traveled from New Castle in must-win Pennsylvania.

"Do I think he's safe? No, I think there's going to be another attempt. But I think he's going to make it through."

After the assassination attempt, pictures of Trump, with a blood-streaked face, pumping his fist and shouting "fight, fight, fight," became defining images of the campaign.

On Oct. 5, many Trump supporters wore shirts emblazoned with the iconography, and some sported ear coverings recalling the bandage the former president wore after the shooting.

Billionaire Elon Musk joined Trump on stage, stressing the tight margins that will likely decide the election in battleground states like Pennsylvania and encouraging voter registration.

Trump "must win to preserve democracy in America," said Musk, echoing the alarmist messaging he frequently pushes to his 200 million followers on his X platform.