It was the pair’s first event together since they became the GOP’s nominees at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Former President Donald Trump is holding his first campaign rally since he survived an , returning to the battleground state of Michigan alongside his new running mate.
“It was exactly one week ago, even to the hour, even to the minute”, Trump said before the crowd in Grand Rapids, Michigan, reflecting on the July 13 shooting in Pennsylvania that left him with a bloodied ear, killed one supporter in the crowd 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”, he went on.
Trump was joined by at the pair’s first event together since they became the GOP’s nominees at the in Milwaukee.
“I find it hard to believe that a week ago, an assassin tried to take Donald Trump’s life, and now we have got a hell of a crowd in Michigan to welcome him back on the campaign trail”, Vance said before Trump’s arrival.
Michigan is one of the handful of expected to determine the outcome of November’s presidential election. Trump narrowly won the state by just over 10,000 votes in 2016, but Democratic President Biden flipped it back in 2020, winning by a margin of 154,000 votes on his way to the presidency.
After appearing uncharacteristically subdued and emotional during the Republican convention, Trump returned to his usual rally mode, lashing out at his Democratic rivals, repeating his lies about the 2020 election, and peppering his address with jokes that sparked laughter from an enthusiastic audience.
At one point, Trump glanced at a screen showing him from an unusual angle and joked about his combover.
“That’s a severe sucker. What’s with that one?” he said. “I apologize. Man! I looked up there, I said, ‘Whoa!’ That’s like a work of art!”
At another point, as he invited a supporter on stage, he quipped, “He does not carry guns!”
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 and narrowly dodging the bullet that hit his ear.
“I owe immigration my life”, he said. “It’s true.”
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.
Many in the packed arena were seen wearing shirts featuring the image of Trump, on stage, after he was shot, pumping his fist in the air after surviving the shooting, along with the usual red “Make America Great Again” hats.
