Trump campaigns at site of assassination attempt

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump held a campaign rally in Butler in the state of Pennsylvania, where he was shot at a rally in July.

The event, during which Trump did his utmost to capitalize on the shooting incident, came exactly a month before the November 5 presidential election.

Security at the rally was extremely tight, with Trump taking to the stage behind bulletproof glass, sniper squads posted on surrounding buildings and a surveillance drone in operation.

One person — firefighter Corey Comperatore, whose family attended Saturday's rally — was killed in the July shooting, and three people, including Trump, were injured. The 20-year-old shooter was also killed by Secret Service agents.

A notable presence at Saturday's event was tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has become an outspoken Trump supporter.

What did Trump say?

"Exactly 12 weeks ago this evening, on this very ground, a cold-blooded assassin aimed to silence me," Trump told tens of thousands of supporters.

To calls of "fight, fight, fight" from the crowd — the words he uttered while fist-pumping directly after a bullet hit his right ear in the July incident —  Trump vowed he would "never quit ... never bend ... never break."

The Republican did not shy away from suggesting that his political opponents, whom he called the "enemy within," might have been involved in the assassination bid.

He said they had not only pushed to indict him over attempts to subvert the 2020 election that he lost, but "who knows, maybe even tried to kill me."

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

Trump began his stage appearance with the words, "As I was saying," while gesturing toward an immigration chart, thus picking up where he left off when the bullet struck.

Trump the preserver of 'democracy in America': Musk

Musk also took to the stage alongside Trump while jumping and pumping his fists into the air.

He called the upcoming election "the most important election of our lifetime."

Without presenting evidence, the billionaire told the crowd: "The other side wants to take away your freedom of speech. They want to take away your right to bear arms."  

They want to take away your right to vote," he added, saying: "President Trump must win to preserve the Constitution. He must win to preserve democracy in America."  

"If they don't, this will be the last election. That's my prediction," he said, echoing the messages he has often posted on his social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

Musk's words are in contrast with accusations leveled at Trump by critics that he has tried to undermine the Constitution in an effort to nullify Joe Biden’s victory in 2020.

July shooting an unprecedented moment

The shooting on July 13 gave a massive boost to the Trump campaign, with the photo of the blood-streaked former president making his defiant gesture after the shooting becoming an iconic image for his followers.

Indeed, on Saturday, many supporters sported shirts emblazoned with the defining image, and some were even adorned with ear coverings in imitation of the bandage Trump wore after the shooting.

However, much wind was taken from Trump's sails barely a week after the assassination attempt when President Joe Biden, whom Trump had defeated in a TV debate, pulled out of the race in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Harris has succeeded in vastly improving the Democratic poll ratings and taken the age advantage over Trump, who often mocked Biden as being too old for the White House job.

tj/rm (AFP, AP, dpa)