Trump says he 'took a bullet for democracy' in first rally after assassination attempt

Donald Trump was joined by Ohio Senator JD Vance at the pair’s first event together, ITV News' Jay Akbar reports

Donald Trump has said he "took a bullet for democracy" during his first campaign rally since he survived 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," the former US President told the crowd, reflecting on the July 13 shooting in Pennsylvania that left him with a bloodied ear, killed one of his supporters and left two others injured.

"I stand before you only by the grace of almighty God," he said, with the now infamous white dressing on his ear replaced by a skin-colored bandage. “I shouldn’t be here right now," he added.

At one point, Trump glanced at a screen showing him from an unusual angle and joked about his combover.

“That’s a severe sucker. What’s with that one?” he said. “I apologise. Man! I looked up there, I said, ‘Whoa!’ That’s like a work of art!”

Republican candidate Trump was joined by Ohio Senator JD Vance at the pair’s first event together since they became the GOP’s nominees at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

"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," Vance said before Trump’s arrival.

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 President Joe Biden flipped it back in 2020, winning by a margin of 154,000 votes on his way to the presidency.

The Democrats are facing deepening party turmoil as opinions are slip over whether President Biden should stay in the 2024 race.

Vice President Kamala Harris is next in line for the job if Biden decides to step aside, or if a “mini primary” should be quickly launched to choose a new nominee before the party's August convention.

Harris hit the campaign fundraising circuit Saturday in Provincetown, Massachusetts, but did not mention the calls for Biden to leave the race or for her to replace him, instead repeating one of her regular campaign lines: “We're going to win this election."

Biden, despite a week of campaign stops, interviews and insistence that he is the best candidate to take on Trump in a rematch, hasn't been able to quell the uproar.

Sceptical Democrats doubt he can keep the White House after his stumbled debate performance last month, and worry he will take hopes for party control of Congress down with him.

The President is isolating with a small circle of family and close advisers at his beach home in Delaware after announcing he has been diagnosed with Covid-19.

White House doctor Kevin O’Connor said on Saturday that Biden's symptoms were improving, but that he remained plagued by a dry cough and hoarseness. He received separate briefings on domestic and national security issues, the White House said.

The president’s team insisted he’s ready to return to the campaign this coming week to counter what he called a “dark vision” laid out by his rival Trump.

“Together, as a party and as a country, we can and will defeat him at the ballot box,” Biden said in a statement on Friday.

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