Nearly three months after a would-be assassin came mere millimeters away from taking his life, former President Donald Trump returned on Saturday to the scene of the crime – now protected by a bigger security footprint but facing far greater political headwinds.
When Trump last came to Butler on July 13, he was fresh off the first 2024 general election debate, one widely seen as a total victory against his then-opponent, President Joe Biden. Polls showed Trump on a path to easily trounce Biden in nearly all battleground states, meanwhile Democrats were in disarray over the very public rout of their party’s standard bearer.
Since Biden dropped out of the race in late July, however, the tides have largely turned: Vice President Kamala Harris is now neck-and-neck with Trump in most swing states and leading in a few key battlegrounds. Her campaign has re-energized Democrats, bringing in a surge of volunteers and smashing fund raising records.
Trump’s campaign has sought to capitalize on the assassination attempt by portraying the former president as unconquerable, at times leaning heavily into religious theology and suggesting the former president’s life was saved by divine intervention.
“Sure as I’m standing here today, I believe that what happened was a true miracle,” Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, told attendees. “I truly believe that God saved President Trump’s life that day.”
Trump didn't shy away from such language either, describing the attack on his life as one aimed towards his supporters as well.
“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,” Trump said. “But by the hand of Providence and the grace of God, that villain did not succeed in his goal. He did not stop our movement.”
Many of the attendees present on Saturday were also there for the last Butler rally when Trump was shot. They told Scripps News they felt it was crucial to come back.
“I had to come back here to show my respects and show our support,” said Kyle Hoehler, who was seated just rows behind Corey Comperatore, the volunteer firefighter killed during the assassination attempt in July, when he was in Butler the last time around.
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Another local told Scripps News the event was shocking for the small, rural county.
“Our community is just a small-town, local, blue collar, hardworking community of good people,” said Butler resident Shayne Bayer. “It's healing for President Trump to come back and for us all to, you know, collectively unite and be able to celebrate and not let a violent incident shadow what this movement has become.”
Security failures prompt changes to U.S. Secret Service protocols
That Thomas Matthew Crooks — the 20-year-old whose bullet grazed Trump’s ear — came so close to assassinating a former president and major political candidate, represented a stunning failure for the U.S. Secret Service, prompting a congressional investigation and the resignation of the agency’s top leader.
An internal review later identified multiple security failures that led to the assassination attempt, including flaws both in the agency’s planning for the rally and its protective duties during it. Crooks was able to scale the ladder of a nearby building and fire off eight shots from an AR-15–style rifle from the roof before Secret Service agents returned fire and killed him.
Federal and local law enforcement agencies struggled to communicate with one another during the attack, even as attendees flagged him as suspicious to security officials earlier that day.
And just weeks later, a second man fired shots in the former president’s direction while Trump was golfing at his International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. No one was injured in that attack, and the alleged shooter was taken into custody.
In the days following the attack on Trump’s life, leaders from across the political spectrum and throughout the government condemned it. “There’s no place in America for this kind of violence or for any violence ever, period,” Biden said in an Oval Office address.
And just last month, lawmakers in Washington unanimously passed a bill boosting Secret Service protection for presidential candidates, granting Trump and Harris the same level of security that the president receives. Agency leaders have pledged to step up enforcement as the campaigns enter the final month before the election.
“The U.S. Secret Service has made comprehensive changes and enhancements to our communications capabilities, resourcing, and protective operations,” Anthony Guglielmi, the U.S. Secret Service spokesman, said in a statement ahead of Trump’s Oct. 5 rally. “Today, the former president is receiving heightened protection and we take the responsibility to ensure his safety and security very seriously.”
At the rally on Saturday, that heightened security was on full display. Snipers were positioned throughout the space and drones could be seen flying overhead. Large trucks formed a protective barrier around the fairgrounds, and local law enforcement leaders said they were “confident” in safety profiles having learned what went wrong last time.
Appearing onstage behind a protective glass barrier, Trump himself thanked the agents he credited with saving his life.
“The Secret Service are great people,” Trump said, praising their “devotion to duty that cannot be described.”
Fears about more violence to come
Despite the added Secret Service resources, fears remain about the possibility of politically-motivated violence after the Nov. 5 election — especially if Trump loses and again questions the outcome of the election.
In a surprise visit to the White House Briefing Room Friday, President Biden said he was confident the election would be “free and fair,” but didn’t have the same faith it would be peaceful.
“The things that Trump has said and the things that he said last time out when he didn’t like the outcome of the election were very dangerous,” Biden told reporters. “The Vice Presidential Republican candidate did not say he’d accept the outcome of the election. And they haven’t even accepted the outcome of the last election. So I’m concerned about what they’re going to do.”
Asked about Biden’s comments, Trump’s onetime campaign manager and senior adviser Corey Lewandowski dismissed the notion that Trump might not emerge victorious in November.
“I don't speak in hypotheticals,” Lewandowski told Scripps News. “We're going to win, so we'll figure it out after that.”
And while many Trump supporters spoke to their belief in peaceful protests and distaste for violence, others predicted chaos should their chosen candidate lose again.
“If Trump's not elected, there’s gonna be World War III,” said Sam Hart of Lisbon, Ohio. “If he doesn't become president, there’s probably going to be a civil war for America.”
