Donald Trump holds first rally since assassination attempt
Donald Trump is holding his first campaign rally since he survived an attempted assassination last week.
Thousands of supporters came to hear Trump speak in Grand Rapids, Michigan, alongside his new running mate JD Vance.
Trump was left with a bloodied ear during the shooting in Pennsylvania a week ago, which killed one man in the crowd.
Trump opened by saying a thank you to "Americans nationwide, including all of you here today, for your extraordinary outpouring of love and support in the wake of the horrific last Saturday evening".
The crowd responded by chanting, “Fight, fight, fight!”
The gauze on Trump's ear appeared to have been replaced by a skin-coloured bandage.
Trump was joined by JD Vance at the pair’s first event together since they became the Republican nominees at the party's national convention in Milwaukee.
Speaking before Trump's arrival, Vance said: “I find it hard to believe that a week ago, an assassin tried to take Donald Trump’s life, and now we have got a hell of a crowd in Michigan to welcome him back on the campaign trail.”
“I chose him because he's for the worker.”
Hours before he took the stage, Trump's supporters crowded the streets of Grand Rapids in anticipation of the former president’s remarks.
Supporters began lining up on Friday morning, and by Saturday afternoon, the line stretched close to a mile from the venue's entrance.
Close to an hour before he was set to take the stage, supporters had filled nearly every seat in the 12,000-person Van Andel Arena.
Mike Gaydos, who traveled from Indiana with his three sons to attend the rally, said he did not consider himself a “huge” Trump supporter in the past, but wanted to show support for the former president following his attempted assassination.
“We can’t allow something like that to collar us,” he said. “Bravery is what I thought he showed that day and I want to show my sons about bravery as well.”
Grand Rapids saw a significant police presence, with officers stationed on nearly every block, while others patrolled on horseback and bicycles.
The heightened security outside the venue created a tense environment, with some attendees mentioning that drones overhead had made them nervous.
Attendees were required to pass through a metal detector upon entering the indoor arena.
“This is the tightest I’ve ever seen the security,” said Renee White, who said that she’s been to 33 of Trump’s rallies.
“We usually can bring in some small bags but today I had to just leave stuff out there.”
White was seated behind the podium at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where the gunman opened fire from a nearby rooftop.
She described the shooting as “surreal” but said that it would not stop her from going to rallies.
“If I’m going to be taken out, at least I’m doing something I love to do, right?” said White.
Michigan is one of the handful of crucial swing states expected to determine the outcome of November's presidential election.
Trump narrowly won the state by just over 10,000 votes in 2016, but Democrat Joe Biden flipped it back in 2020, winning by a margin of 154,000 votes on his way to the presidency.
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