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Donald Trump will return to a rally stage one week after he was injured in an attempted assassination, and two days after he formally accepted the Republican nomination for president.
Trump will hold a rally indoors in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Saturday, July 20 alongside his recently-announced running mate JD Vance, who will make his debut on the campaign trail.
A bullet fired by a 20-year-old gunman armed with an AR-15-style rifle grazed Trump’s ear while he was speaking on an outdoor stage in Pennsylvania last Saturday. The gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, climbed to the roof of a building outside the rally’s security perimeter before firing several rounds.
The event on July 20 will take place inside the Van Andel Arena, an indoor sports and concert venue.
Secret Service officials have repeatedly warned the Trump campaign against holding outdoor rallies, according to CNN, citing people who have been briefed on the matter.
Trump made his first public appearance since the shooting at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Monday night, as he walked into the Fiserv Forum with a white bandage covering his right ear.
Trump’s appearance came just hours after he formally clinched the Republican Party’s presidential nomination and announced the Ohio senator as his running mate.
The former president walked out to the convention floor and pumped his fist before taking a seat in the arena next to Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and far-right media personality Tucker Carlson.
Trump initially planned to delay his appearance, but on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, he said he “cannot allow a ‘shooter,’ or potential assassin, to force a change to scheduling, or anything else.”
The former president addressed the convention’s final night on Thursday with a rambling 90-minute speech during which he went into lengthy detail about the shooting.
He said he was “not supposed to be here” and said his presence on the stage was because of “the grace of almighty God.”
“There was blood pouring everywhere, and yet in a certain way, I felt very safe because I had God on my side. I felt that,” he added.
