BUTLER, Pennsylvania — Bulletproof glass is now standard, and while Donald Trump relived the moment that almost made him a martyr, the threat of political violence increasingly seems mundane.
Bulletproof glass is now standard, and while Donald Trump relived the moment that almost made him a martyr, the threat of political violence increasingly seems mundane.
The attempt on his life would have gone unmentioned while on stage with Vice President Kamala Harris last month had he not brought it up himself. And later, when Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz clashed over policy during the undercard debate, it disappeared entirely. Just 30 days from the election, the first – and then the second – assassination attempts have largely receded from focus.
“For 15 seconds, time stood still,” Trump said Saturday recounting the near-death experience on the same spot where a bullet came inches from his head. Then time returned to schedule, and the world largely moved on. This was due, in part, to designed bravado, which the Trump campaign underscored by returning to the scene of the crime. The former president brought a live, and lively, prop with him this time in the person of Elon Musk. The billionaire entrepreneur who heads Tesla, Space X, and the social media giant formerly known as Twitter, endorsed Trump immediately after the July 13 assassination attempt here. On Saturday he did Trump one better: Sporting an “Occupy Mars” shirt under his sport coat and a black Make America Great Again hat, Musk gave Trump a spirited shout-out while leaping in the air twice with his arms held high, further energizing an already amped-up audience.
Trump himself began in Butler with a theatrical understatement, declaring after he stepped on stage, “As I was saying …” What followed was as a much a celebration of defiance in the face of danger as it was a commemoration of the life of firefighter Corey Comperatore who lost his life here. Ahead of the much-anticipated rally, the word campaign officials used most often was “bittersweet.” Roughly 20 minutes into a nearly two-hour long address, though, after taking care to praise how Comperatore had shielded his wife and children from a hail of bullets with his own body, regular order resumed.
“We’re here for a reason, and that’s to win,” the candidate said. Motioning to the firefighter’s uniform lovingly placed in the grandstands, Trump added, “Corey wants us to win too.” A stump speech followed, punctuated by a few new riffs, including one about how Harris could not properly work a teleprompter.
But it would be a mistake to conclude that Trump has turned the page. His campaign has been briefed on the ongoing efforts by Iran to kill him. Security has been visibly increased, and aides have expressed their own private fears about the new occupational hazards that suddenly come with a job in politics.
