Your support helps us to tell the story
My recent work focusing on Latino voters in Arizona has shown me how crucial independent journalism is in giving voice to underrepresented communities.
Your support is what allows us to tell these stories, bringing attention to the issues that are often overlooked. Without your contributions, these voices might not be heard.
Every dollar you give helps us continue to shine a light on these critical issues in the run up to the election and beyond
Eric Garcia
Washington Bureau Chief
Donald Trump has returned to the venue in Butler, Pennsylvania where he survived an assassination attempt just three months ago.
Billionaire and ardent Trump supporter Elon Musk announced he will be speaking at the rally, marking the first time the Tesla CEO will publicly appear at a campaign event for the former president since he endorsed Trump in July right after the harrowing July 13 incident.
JD Vance, Eric Trump and his wife Lara Trump — the co-chair of the RNC — and other high-profile guests will also be in attendance.
The family of Corey Comperatore, a former fire chief who was killed in the attack, will also attend Saturday’s Butler rally.
After a series of failures by the Secret Service at the July 13 rally, revealed in a damning Congressional report, the agency has provided a number of security enhancements. Since the harrowing incident, the Secret Service has said it has increased its security presence around Trump so he has the “highest level of security” that the agency provides.
There will be “a large coordinated presence of law enforcement” at the rally, a source in law enforcement familiar with the plan told The Independent.
Trump talks about his “beautiful life” before a medical issue in the crowd stalls the rally
Trump boasted about his properties and the “beautiful life” he could have if he weren’t running for president during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“I could have such a beautiful life,” Trump said, before boasting of his properties. “I could be in Monte Carlo, but I’d rather be in Butler.”
A short time later, someone in the crowd suffered a medical issue, briefly interrupting the rally. Trump stopped, saying “take your time, doctor” and waited for the individual to receive medical care before continuing.
During the downtime, the crowd started singing the national anthem.
Graig Graziosi5 October 2024 23:35
Trump suggests the government is paying for “sex change operations for illegal aliens”
Trump suggested on Saturday during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania that migrants in “holding bins” were being given government sponsored “sex change operations.”
“Who wants sex change operations for illegal aliens in holding bins?”
The dubious claim has been a frequent talking point among Republicans, who have made both illegal immigration and opposition to transgender individuals a main focus of the 2024 campaign.
Graig Graziosi5 October 2024 23:29
Trump insinuates Democrats “maybe tried to kill me”
Donald Trump said that Democrats “maybe tried to kill me” during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania — the site of his attempted assassination by Thomas Matthew Crooks in July — after which the crowd chanted “fight fight fight.”
There is zero evidence that Democrats had anything to do with Crooks’s shooting.
Earlier in the night Trump’s son, Eric, made similar false insinuations.
Graig Graziosi5 October 2024 23:25
Conservative campaigner courts Amish voters with “raw milk” before Trump walked out at Butler rally
Conservative social media influencer and campaigner Scott Presler made an appeal to the Amish in Pennsylvania on Saturday before Donald Trump appeared at his Butler rally.
He told them Trump’s White House would protect their “raw milk” and would provide them a country where they could afford to have families with 10 children.
It’s not the first time Republicans have courted the Amish vote in Pennsylvania.
Graig Graziosi5 October 2024 23:21
Trump recognizes those killed and wounded during his July assassination attempt
Trump recognized Corey Comperatore, David Dutch and James Copenhaver, the men wounded during the July 13 assassination attempt at his rally in Pennsylvania.
Comperatore was killed in the attack. Trump called him a “folk hero,” a “brave guy,” and a “protector.”
He also noted that Copenhaver could not be at the rally because he was having surgery related to the shooting. Dutch was present at the rally on Saturday.
He then asked the crowd to join him in a moment of silence for Comperatore, during which time bells tolled and a singer sang “Ave Maria.”
Graig Graziosi5 October 2024 23:15
Trump thanks Secret Service agents for saving him during Butler assassination attempt
Trump thanked the US Secret Service members who “threw their bodies on top of mine,” saying there “was not even a moment of doubt in their mind” when they moved in to assist him.
The Secret Service faced severe scrutiny in the aftermath of the assassination attempt in July. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned in the wake of the assassination attempt.
Graig Graziosi5 October 2024 23:08
Trump starts off rally with “as I was saying”
Donald Trump started his Saturday rally in Butler, Pennsylvania with the words “as I was saying,” referencing that his last rally in Butler ended abruptly when Thomas Matthew Crooks tried to assassinate him.
“By the hand of providence and the grace of God, that villain did not succeed in his goal,” Trump said.
The former president walked out to the stage to a live rendition of “God Bless the USA” sung by Lee Greenwood.
Graig Graziosi5 October 2024 23:04
Trump takes the stage in Butler for the first time since the assassination attempt against him
Donald Trump walked onto the stage to a live rendition of “God Bless the USA” sung by Lee Greenwood.
The former president returned to the Butler stage less than three months after a lone gunman tried to take his life. One supporter in the crowd died and two others were injured. Trump suffered a wound to his ear.
Trump started his rally, as promised, right where he left off in July: “As I was saying…”
The July 13 rally was interrupted just a few minutes in when shots rang out. Trump ducked behind a podium and Secret Service rushed to the stage to huddle around the former president, who eventually got up, with blood smattered across his face.
“The vicious monster unleashed pure evil from his sniper’s perch,” he said of the shooter.
Kelly Rissman5 October 2024 23:04
Who is Lara Trump’s ‘friend’ Scott Presler?
“Donald Trump took a bullet for us. Please use your ballot and have his back on November 5,” Scott Presler told the crowd on Saturday.
The controversial campaigner, who boasts millions of followers across his various social media accounts, has been trying to urge Trump supporters in Pennsylvania to sign up for mail-in ballots — a message that directly contradicts that of the former president, who has repeatedly ragged on mail-in voting.
“Democrats vote for 50 days, Republicans vote for 12 hours. If we are going to be competitive in this election, then we must use an ‘all of the above’ approach to voting,” Presler previously told The Independent.
Presler’s efforts have won the support of Eric and Lara Trump.
Richard Hall has the full story.
Kelly Rissman5 October 2024 22:55
Lara Trump addresses crowd
God “spared Donald Trump’s life because he was not finished with Donald Trump. He did it not once but twice,” said Lara Trump, Eric’s wife and the co-chair of the RNC, referring to the two assassination attempts against the former president in the past two months.
The former president operates with “strength and faith,” he said.
Lara Trump also mentioned the RNC’s efforts toward what she called “transparent elections.”
“If you are a person considering cheating our elections, we will find you, we will track you down, we will prosecute you to the full extent of the law. If you’re an illegal citizen voting in our election, we will prosecute you to the full extent of the law — and you’re leaving this country.”
Her claims come after Trump and his allies have been baselessly claiming that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him.
Kelly Rissman5 October 2024 22:45
