Donald Trump held on Saturday his first campaign rally since he survived an assassination attempt, returning to the battleground state of Michigan alongside his newly named running mate.
"It was exactly one week ago, even to the hour, even to the minute," Trump told the crowd, reflecting on the July 13 shooting in Pennsylvania that left him with a bloodied ear, killed one of his supporters and left two others injured.
"I stand before you only by the grace of almighty God," he said, the white gauze on his ear now replaced by a skin-colored bandage. "I shouldn't be here right now."
Trump was joined by Ohio Senator J.D. Vance at the pair's first event together since they became the Republican party's nominees at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Michigan is one of the handful of swing states expected to determine the outcome of November's presidential election. Trump narrowly won the state by just more than 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.
Trump's choice of Vance was aimed, in part, at helping him win support from Rust Belt voters in places like Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Ohio who helped Trump notch his surprise 2016 victory. Vance specifically mentioned those places during his acceptance speech at the convention, stressing his roots growing up poor in small-town Ohio and pledging not to forget working-class people whose “jobs were sent overseas and children were sent to war.”
After appearing uncharacteristically subdued and emotional during the Republican convention, Trump returned to his usual rally mode, insulting his Democratic rivals, repeating his lies about the 2020 election, and peppering his address with jokes that sparked laughter from an enthusiastic audience.
But 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, narrowly dodging the bullet that hit his ear.
"I owe immigration my life," he said.
Supporters crowd downtown Grand Rapids
Hours before he took the stage, Trump's supporters crowded the streets of downtown Grand Rapids in anticipation of the former president's remarks. Supporters began lining up Friday morning, and by Saturday afternoon, the line stretched close to a mile from the entrance of the 12,000-seat Van Andel Arena.
Downtown Grand Rapids also saw 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, which is easier to secure.
Attendees were required to pass through a metal detector upon entering the arena, yet the presence of security inside appeared consistent with previous events.
"This is the tightest I've ever seen the security," said Renee White, who said that she's been to 33 of Trump's rallies.
White had been seated behind the podium at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where the gunman opened fire from a nearby rooftop. On Saturday, she was again seated behind Trump, almost in the same spot as she had been in Butler.
"If I'm going to be taken out, at least I'm doing something I love to do, right?" she said.
Trump distances himself from Project 2025
During the rally, Trump pushed back against efforts to cast him as a threat to democracy and an extremist, even as he has vowed mass deportations and threatened retribution against his political enemies.
He also again tried to distance himself from the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, a policy and personnel plan for a second Trump term that was crafted by a host of former administration officials.
Trump blasted the project, which has become a centerpiece of Biden's campaign, as "severe right" and "seriously extreme," just like the "radical left."
"I don't know anything about it," he insisted.
