Trump returns to site of assassination attempt in Pennsylvania

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Saturday will return to the rural Pennsylvania site where he was nearly assassinated for a rally in the critical battleground state exactly one month before the November 5 election.

Trump ally Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and owner of social media platform X, will attend the rally. It will be the first time Musk has appeared at a Trump campaign event since endorsing the former president after the July 13 assassination attempt.

Trump narrowly escaped being shot in the head in Butler by a bullet that whizzed by and left his right ear bleeding, a near-miss that exposed serious gaps in security for the former president and led to heightened protection measures for his subsequent outdoor rallies.

Republican officials hope Trump's return to Butler will generate more support among his hard-core followers and drive up turnout for him in Pennsylvania, a state that he and his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, see as crucial to winning November 5.

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump reacts as multiple shots rang out during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 13, 2024. Reuters

"I'm going back to Butler because I feel I have an obligation to go back to Butler," Trump told the NewsNation cable news network earlier this week. "We never finished what we were supposed to do."

Trump also will be joined at the rally by his vice presidential running mate, Senator JD Vance, and the family of firefighter Corey Comperatore, who was fatally shot during the attempt onTrump's life.

The Butler shooting led to widespread criticism of the U.S. Secret Service and the resignation of its director.Critics raised concerns about how the 20-year-old suspect, Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was subsequently shot to death by Secret Service agents, was able to access a nearby rooftop with a direct line of sight to where Trump was speaking.

A Secret Service probe found communication gaps and a lack of diligence ahead of the shooting. In its aftermath, the agency approved extra security measures for Trump, including using bulletproof glass to shield him at outdoor rallies.