Donald Trump held his first campaign rally since surviving an assassination attempt, returning to the battleground state of Michigan alongside his newly named running mate.
"It was exactly one week ago, even to the hour, even to the minute," Trump told the crowd, as quoted by The Associated Press, reflecting on the July 13 shooting in Pennsylvania that left him with a bloodied ear, killed one of his supporters, and injured two others.
"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 added.
After briefly calling for national unity earlier this week, Trump has since reverted to his usual campaign tactics. He used insulting and sometimes offensive language to attack his opponents and repeated a series of false claims about immigration, the economy, and election fraud. These themes were major elements of his speech on Saturday, highlighting his return to the combative style that has characterized much of his political career.
Despite the recent assassination attempt, Trump's rhetoric remains as fiery and polarizing as ever, aiming to energize his base and draw sharp contrasts with his political rivals.
Trump attacked Democrats, accusing them of wanting to remove Biden from the ticket after he won their presidential nominating contest.
"They have a couple of problems. No. 1, they have no idea who their candidate is," Trump said to laughter and jeers, reported Reuters. "This guy goes and he gets the votes and now they want to take it away."
Referring to Pelosi, Trump said: "She's turned on him like a dog. She's as crazy as a bed bug."
Trump also pushed back against claims that a second Trump presidency would be shaped by the extremist manifesto Project 2025, created by the conservative Heritage Foundation and featuring numerous figures closely aligned with Trump and his campaign.
He dismissed the document, stating that it was crafted by the "severe right – very, very conservative and the opposite of the radical left." Trump claimed he knew nothing about it and had no desire to learn about it.
At the Michigan rally, the former president predicted a sweeping election victory, engaging the crowd by asking whether they would prefer him to run against Vice President Kamala Harris, which elicited loud boos, or against President Biden, which drew cheers. He also expressed his willingness to face Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, whom he criticized harshly, describing her tenure as "a terrible job."
On stage before Trump, Vance received a warm reception despite the sports rivalry between his home state of Ohio and Michigan. In his speech, Vance criticized both Republicans and Democrats for failing to protect manufacturing jobs in Michigan and across the US. "Both parties were broken in very profound ways until Trump came along," he said.
Meanwhile, there was a significant police presence at Trump's rally in Grand Rapids on Saturday, with officers stationed at every street corner for several blocks. U.S. Secret Service agents were positioned on the top balconies of the Van Andel Arena, providing them with a clear view of the crowd inside.
