Standing on the precise spot where he was almost killed 12 weeks ago Donald Trump looked out at a crowd his supporters declared ‘bigger than the Super Bowl’.
Amid the sprawling throng at the Butler Farm Show grounds in Pennsylvania spontaneous chants of ‘Fight! Fight! Fight! broke out periodically, and rally-goers wore cowboy hats saying ‘Trump Bullet Proof’ and ‘You Missed’.
There was an opera singer, tolling bells, Mexican waves, a flyover, parachutists doing aerial tricks – and even a dramatic cameo by a scene-stealing Elon Musk.
Trump has held over 50 public events since he was shot in the ear at Butler on July 13. But his campaign believes the size and energy of this appearance will act as a launchpad, propelling him down the final stretch to the White House.
It was billed as a ‘tribute to the American spirit’ and long snaking lines of supporters began forming nine hours before Trump took the stage at the venue north of Pittsburgh.
At the entrance they were greeted by a life-size statue of Trump, fist raised, placed on top of a camouflaged Army truck.
Nearby, a man dragged a 15ft-high cross which was too big to get through security scanners.
Perimeter fencing was clad with banners saying ‘Fight! Fight! Fight!’.
epRublican presidential nominee and former U.S. president Donald Trump gestures during a rally at the site of the July assassination attempt against him, in Butler, Pennsylvania, U.S., October 5, 2024
Attendees wait for the start of a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump at the Butler Farm Show Inc. on October 05, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania
In a massive security police roamed the grass on horses and two large drones buzzed overhead.
As the venue filled up three parachutists with red, white and blue canopies, and trailing a giant U.S. flag swooped in to heavy metal music.
Then, a somber silence fell across the crowd as a pastor asked God to ‘bless your servant Donald’ and ‘protect him from further attacks.’ Supporters bowed their heads and some raised their hands in the air.
Later, to huge cheers, a painting of Corey Comperatore, the former firefighter killed in the July 13 shooting, was unveiled on stage.
His uniform had been placed in a seat in the bleachers behind Trump.
Trump revved up the crowd by flying over twice in Trump Force One as music from Top Gun blared out.
Dan Scavino, Senior Advisor to Trump, shot a video of the scene from Trump Force One captioned: ‘WOW! Take a look from Trump Force One—flying over Butler, Pennsylvania. Let’s do this!’
A statue of former President Donald Trump with a raised fist greets supporters before Trump speaks
A girl stands under a flag on the day Republican presidential nominee former U.S. President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally as he returns to the site of the July assassination attempt against him in Butler, Pennsylvania, U.S., October 5, 2024
Lee Greenwood speaks next to Republican presidential nominee former U.S. president Donald Trump at a rally as Trump returns to the site of the July assassination attempt against him in Butler, Pennsylvania
After he arrived at the venue he took the stage with Lee Greenwood who sang ‘God Bless The U.S.A.’ accompanied by the crowd.
Unlike on July 13 he was behind a semi-circular, 7ft-high screen of bulletproof glass.
There was loud applause as Trump began his speech by declaring ‘And as I was saying…’
He then gestured to a chart on a screen that had been there when he was shot.
Trump told the crowd: ‘Exactly 12 weeks ago this evening, on this very ground, a cold-blooded assassin aimed to silence me.
‘For 16 harrowing seconds during the gunfire time stopped as this vicious monster unleashed pure evil from his sniper’s perch not so far away.’
But, to thunderous cheers, he vowed to carry on,
A memorial for firefighter Corey Comperatore, who died during an assassination attempt on Republican presidential nominee and former US president Donald Trump, on display ahead of a campaign rally with President Trump at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, USA, 05 October 2024
He said: ‘I will never quit, I will never bend, I will never break, I will never yield, not even in the face of death itself.
‘We have fought together, we have endured together, we have pushed forward together, and right here in Pennsylvania we have bled together.’
Shortly after he started, at 6.11pm, he called for a moment of silence at the same time the shooting happened on July 13.
Bells tolled and then opera singer Christopher Macchio appeared on stage to sing ‘Ave Maria’.
It was all just a prelude to perhaps the most dramatic moment of the night when Musk bounced on to stage, waving his arms wildly and exhorting rally-goers to ‘fight, fight, fight’ and ‘vote, vote. vote.’
After leaping up and down, and being embraced by Trump, Musk stood at the lectern behind the bulletproof glass.
He declared: ‘America is the home of the brave and the true test of someone’s character is how they behave under fire.
‘We had one president who couldn’t climb a flight of stairs and another who was fist-pumping after getting shot! FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!
In the crowd Amy Upperman, 41,and her eight-year-old daughter Gracelyn, were standing close to where they witnessed Trump being hit three months ago.
As Gracelyn played on the grass her mother, wearing a ‘Nurses For Trump’ T-shirt, said she was going to ‘get back out and support him (Trump) even more.’
Her brother, Matt Smock, 45, in a red MAGA hat, said: ‘Trump’s the only choice to save out country. Without showing support by being here again again we are showing the other side weakness.’
Trump’s return to Butler ‘shows you he’s not doing it for himself,’ he said.
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump listens as Christopher Macchio, not pictured, sings at the conclusion of a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa
Dan Beasley of Northville, Mich., holds a cross before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show, the site where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa
Richard Santarelli, 57, a steelworker wearing an ‘I’m Voting For The Felon’ T-shirt, had arrived at 6am and praised Trump for coming back.
He said: ‘It shows he’s got guts. He promised he’d come back and he held up to it. The guy cares about our country.
‘I see snipers and more police presence than you could ever imagine. They’re everywhere. which is nice. They’ve got it under control.’
But he added: ‘I’m worried about World War Three. I just don’t think they’ll respect her (Kamala Harris) as much as they’ll respect him (Trump).’
Supporters arrive before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show,
As well as the unfinished rally Trump there were strong political reasons for Trump to go back to Butler.
Republican officials hope it will generate more support among his followers and drive up turnout for him in Pennsylvania, which he and Harris both see as crucial to winning the White House on November 5.
Butler County, named after American Revolution hero General Richard Butler, has not voted Democrat since 1964.
Trump won the county by 36 points in 2016, but that slipped to 32 points in 2020, and he needs it to go up this time..
The assassination attempt has resonated deeply in the mountainous community north of Pittsburgh.
In Evans City, 10 miles from the rally, messages of support for Trump flashed on a screen in the high street, alternating with adverts for hunting knives. A garage where trucks were being fixed was home to a massive Trump campaign sign.
supporter of Republican presidential nominee and former US president Donald Trump waits ahead of a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, USA, 05 October 2024
Along the winding wooded lanes near Butler, Trump signs are proliferating, seemingly outnumbering the Stars and Stripes.
But there was division over Trump’s return.
Heidi Priest, a Butler resident who started a Facebook group supporting Harris, said:. ‘Whenever you see people supporting him and getting excited about him being here, it scares the people who don’t want to see him reelected.’
County Commissioner Kevin Boozel, a Democrat, said he had received emails form residents saying ‘Don’t let him back here’ because ’emotionally, we’re not ready for that.’