Trump returns to Butler, Pennsylvania, after assassination attempt for rally with Musk, Vance
BUTLER, Pa. - Elon Musk joined Donald Trump at his rally Saturday in Butler, the Pennsylvania city where the Republican presidential nominee survived an assassination attempt earlier this year.
The SpaceX and Tesla CEO was among several special guests in attendance, including Trump's running mate J.D. Vance, as the former president took the stage with just 30 days to go in the presidential race.
"Tonight I return to Butler in the aftermath of tragedy and heartache to deliver a simple message to the people of Pennsylvania and to the people of America," Trump said. "Our movement to make America great again, stand stronger, prouder, more united, more determined, and nearer to victory than ever before."
A heightened security presence, with armed law enforcers in camouflage uniforms on roofs, was visible as a massive crowd stood shoulder-to-shoulder.
Early on in his speech, Trump paused for more than five minutes after an attendee had a medical issue and needed a medic.
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Saturday's rally took place at the same property where a gunman's bullets grazed Trump's right ear and killed his supporter, Corey Comperatore. The shooting left multiple others injured.
Trump honored the shooting victim in a moment of silence followed by a bell toll and a rendition of "Ave Maria" by opera singer Christopher Macchio.
Several members of Comperatore's family, as well as other attendees and first responders from the July rally, also joined Trump on Saturday at the farm show property.
"We fought together. We have endured together. We have pushed onward together," he said. "And right here in Pennsylvania, we have bled together. We’ve bled."
The rally marked the first time that Musk appeared publicly at a campaign event for the former president since endorsing him.
"President Trump must win to preserve the Constitution. He must win to preserve democracy in America," Musk said after being introduced by Trump on Saturday. "This is a must-win situation."
The billionaire businessman's July endorsement came directly after the attempted assassination, with Musk writing on X, "I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery."
The former president's son Eric Trump, his daughter-in-law and RNC co-chair Lara Trump, and several Pennsylvania lawmakers and sheriffs, also made appearances during the Pennsylvania rally.