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What I saw at the Trump rally

Donald Trump was a picture of defiance after Saturday's shooting. Credit: Getty

July 15, 2024 - 7:00pm

Butler, Pennsylvania

I hadn’t been to a Donald Trump rally before. But if there was ever one that could illuminate all the others and what it means to the people who attend them, it was his appearance in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday.

The former president was due to speak at 5pm in stifling heat which at points exceeded 90°F/32°C. Thousands of attendees stood in line for two hours just to get into the rally, slowed down by the strictly-enforced Secret Service metal detectors.

I stood at the very front of the audience, leaning up against the rail, with the former president’s podium barely 40 feet away from me. Over the next few hours we watched various local and statewide candidates, politicians and activists give speeches. Every time someone wasn’t up there speaking, some of Trump’s favourite music videos would play. There were vintage classics such as Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” rap remixes of his speeches, and even the recent populist anthem “Rich Men North of Richmond”.

Nobody present felt the temptation to leave even when the main attraction was an hour late. One woman behind me almost passed out from the heat. At one point, the giant flag suspended by two cranes above the stage folded back onto itself by the wind. This crowd was utterly dedicated to fixing it and would barely let US Senate candidate Dave McCormick speak until he assured them the staff would mend it. When the flag was restored, the crowd roared their approval. That flag would go on to be a cornerstone of what will surely be one of the most famous pictures in American political history.

At around 6pm, the presumptive Republican nominee emerged, wearing a MAGA hat and no tie — his preferred attire for hot daytime rallies. Beginning without a teleprompter, five minutes in he asked his team to pull up a chart of illegal migration into the United States over the last 20 years.

This chart may have saved his life, because as he was turning his head to explain, we all heard a series of loud popping sounds. Most instinctively dropped to the floor to be safe, but many of us were convinced it was a firework. A few of us stood up only to hear another shot — what we would later find out was the death of the would-be assassin at the hands of the Secret Service.

We then saw Trump emerge from inside a shell of Secret Service agents to direct a fist pump at the crowd, showing them their champion was still alive. It was an electric moment, but also calming. A hush descended as he was whisked away: what now?

I looked to my left and saw blood-stained shirts and a body being carried out from the bleachers. We would later find out that this was Corey Comperatore — the fire-chief and father who was tragically killed by a bullet intended for Trump.

I braced myself for a stampede as people tried to escape harm — we had no idea where the shooter was or that he was dead. Instead, almost everyone around me was quiet, orderly, and a bit dazed. A few women cried: “I can’t believe they tried to kill him.” What struck me was how little anyone in that audience was worried about their own safety. They only cared that their champion was alive and safe.

A few enterprising leaders such as Sean Parnell, former US Senate candidate for Pennsylvania, helped corral the audience out of the field and towards their cars. On the walk to the parking lot most were prayerful, quiet, and concerned. There were recurring discussions as to where the country is headed, as well as resolute vows that “we have to win”.

Friends who knew it was my first Trump rally texted me joking that “rallies aren’t all like that.” I disagree — this weekend’s event showed me in the clearest terms how singular the Republican base’s devotion is to him. There will never be anything else like it in American politics.

It is now clear that nothing can obstruct Trump’s momentum. If that crowd was representative, every single grassroots supporter of the former president will now walk through broken glass to vote for him in November. The only man in public life whom they trust has just taken a bullet to the ear while telling them how he plans to fix the country. Trump has always been more than a politician but now, to his fans, he has become a legend.


Saurabh Sharma is President of American Moment.

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Steve Jolly
Steve Jolly
3 months ago

I’m sorry but why is their behavior so shocking? I’ve said this before but it bears repeating. Despite their lack of formal education, Trump supporters are not the knuckle-dragging troglodytes they are often portrayed as in the circles of the elite, the wealthy, and the highly educated. They can draw conclusions from basic facts like anybody else. Everyone there understood what was happening. An assassin tried to kill Donald Trump. He was fairly obviously the intended target from the moment it happened. This was an assassination attempt, not Sandy Hook or Columbine. Mass panic wasn’t the obvious intent as it was in those cases. The shooter wasn’t firing randomly into the crowd and trying to kill as many people as possible. He was trying to kill just one person. Maybe he intended more afterwards but we’ll never know. His first shot quite obviously hit Trump, and he fired several more times, but was killed a moment later. It happened in the space of a few seconds. The people not in the immediate line of fire were never in any real danger and they clearly understood that fact. They didn’t panic because they had no reason to panic. They understood it wasn’t them who was shot or even being targeted. They were naturally concerned for the person who was the target and for bystanders in the line of fire. They all went through the same security and probably realized that there was no way the shooter would get away or even get many more shots off. Once the shooting stopped, what other logical conclusions could be drawn but that the shooter was dead, badly wounded, or apprehended? Trump’s followers certainly are devoted to him and were obviously concerned for his well being, but their calm demeanor and lack of panic was not devotion to their fearless leader, it was basic common sense, which tragically is not required as a criteria to gain entry to Yale or Harvard, nor does a lack of common sense disqualify anyone from pursuing a career in journalism.
The author did get one thing right. This event might not convert any Biden voters to the other side, but it will galvanize his supporters in a way little else could. His base was always going to turn out in high numbers, but now I can’t imagine any declared Trump supporter failing to show up to vote in November. Further, it might swing a few people who were on the fence or inspire the people who were planned to sit out this election but will now vote their disapproval of assassination attempts and the irresponsible rhetoric that probably inspired this attempt.

Lesley van Reenen
Lesley van Reenen
3 months ago

I was also astounded by the general reaction of the crowd.

Victor James
Victor James
3 months ago

Imagine being a Trump hater. The feckless, glib, soullessness of it must be unbearable at this moment.
Remember, why is Trump so popular? Before Trump, there was literally no politician in the Western world – outside of fringe political parties – who wasn’t terrified of what leftists had to say about them. Despite his age, he was as fresh as clear spring water, politically speaking.
The people who hate him are the embodiment of the cold clinging fingers of the regime. A regime that has suffocated the Western world since their cultural revolutions that swept the West in the mid 60’s.
We are still in their prison camp. Trump, what he represents, threatens to overthrow their power. They know it. We know it.
Trump was just the beginning of the revolution.

Warren Trees
Warren Trees
3 months ago
Reply to  Victor James

I believe you have nailed it.

mac mahmood
mac mahmood
3 months ago
Reply to  Victor James

People who hate him are those who hate fraudsters and petty criminals. Do you not trust the US judicial system?

Samuel Ross
Samuel Ross
3 months ago
Reply to  Victor James

I hope to carry forward Trump’s principles and character in my personal life. May God bless this good man …..

Aidan A
Aidan A
3 months ago

I wonder how the “words are violence” and “safe spaces” crowd would have reacted in a similar situation 🙂