Trump's return to Butler marked by heightened security and reflective supporters
Former President Donald Trump returned to the site of his first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, for a rally marked by enhanced security measures around the fairground as supporters call Saturday's rally a healing moment.
"As I was saying…" Trump kicked off his speech with the immigration chart he was looking at when gunshots rang out in July appeared on the Jumbotron.
The former president thanked the first responders and the community that rallied behind him in the wake of the assassination attempt, using the event as a mobilizing force for his supporters with a month until Election Day.
"Exactly 12 weeks ago, this evening, on this very ground, a cold-blooded assassin aimed to silence me and to silence the greatest movement, MAGA, in the history of our country," Trump said, recounting the moment a gunman targeted his life back in July.
"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 by the hand of providence and the grace of God, that villain did not succeed in his goal. Did not come close. He did not stop our movement. He did not break our spirit," he continued.
"I will never quit. I will never bend, I will never break. I will never yield. Not even in the face of death itself," a defiant Trump stated.
"This is the place where Pennsylvania patriots poured out their blood with the love of their country. They love their country so much and so in honor of all those American heroes who came before us, we will press forward. We will push onward and together, we will win, win, win," Trump said, quipping off the moments after he was shot and raised his first shouting, "Fight, fight, fight."
The campaign also dedicated several moments ahead of Trump's remarks to Corey Comperatore, the rallygoer who was killed while shielding his family. His firefighter uniform is in the stands of where he was sitting in July in memory of him.
At exactly 6:11, the moment he was shot 12 weeks ago, the former president asked for a moment of silence as Ave Maria played for roughly four minutes. Screens showed Comperatore's firefighter uniform in the back during the moment of silence.
Trump went on to praise the Secret Service officials who shielded him from gunfire and honored David Dutch, who was in attendance, along with celebrating James Copenhaver, who couldn't attend tonight's rally after recovering from a surgery he had in relation to the July shooting.
However, soon after, Trump went into his usual stump speech, using inflammatory rhetoric to describe undocumented immigrants as well as continuing his attacks against Vice President Kamala Harris, calling her "incompetent."
On stage, Trump called up Elon Musk to say a few words.
Musk urged people to register to vote and made ominous and unspecified warnings about the consequences of the upcoming election.
"If they don't, this will be the last election. That's my prediction," Musk continued, echoing similar sentiments as the former president.
Saturday's rally featured extensive programming focused on remembering the events of July 13, as well as honoring the resiliency of the Butler community before the former president takes the stage to finish his speech from the summer.
Several first responders spoke ahead of Trump, including the doctor who was attending Trump's rally and attempted to save Comperatore's life along with Sally Sherry, an ER nurse who helped treat Trump.
"The man that we all see on TV with the strong personality, who sometimes doesn't mince words, or who is seen as a wealthy, powerful businessman, was not the man that I stood beside that evening. What I saw was a man that in the aftermath of one of the most terrifying experiences of his life, showed resiliency," Sherry said.
While Saturday's rally was held at the same site in Butler, officials took extra precautions to keep Trump and his supporters safe in the wake of enhanced threats. Semi-trailers formed a perimeter around the fairgrounds so nobody outside could see in, a contrast to the summer rally where spectators had a clear vantage point inside from outside the rally perimeter.
Additionally, the unmanned building that Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to scale and get a clear shot at Trump is now barely visible, with semi-trailers and a tall riser placed in between. Multiple counter snipers are making themselves very visible on the roof of every surrounding building.
"He showed strength and courage. He showed that his family was at the forefront. He was a husband, a father and a grandfather. He was compassionate and grateful," she continued.
Many of the rally attendees ABC News spoke with on Saturday said they were here in July, clearly remembering the moment shots rang out in the midst of Trump's speech nearly three months ago.
They said the violence and tragedy that took place here on July 13 did not discourage them from coming back, instead, the experience reinforced their support for Trump.
"There's an electricity that's here in this crowd," said Barry Murray, 29, of Butler, Pennsylvania, who was at the July rally with his girlfriend. "I think a word that could describe it is, altogether, is just strength – strength and unity. I think one of the main goals of being the leader of a nation like America is to be able to unite people, not divide people."
Brooke Goshen of Beaver, Pennsylvania – a mother of four – attended the July rally with two of her teenage kids and came back to Butler Farm Show with one of them.
"I knew that the security presence was gonna be upgraded a lot this time, so we decided to give it a shot and come back to this historic rally," Goshen told ABC News about her decision to come back. She also said she was excited to see Musk.
Dave Nacey of Apollo, Pennsylvania, wasn't at the July Butler rally but decided to attend today's rally because he felt the need to show more support today.
"I feel that the support needs to be there 100% from everybody," Nacey said.
