Former President Donald Trump made his return to Butler, Pennsylvania, nearly three months after he was shot there during a campaign rally. NBC10 political reporter Lauren Mayk caught up with supporters who showed up to Saturday’s event.
Election Day is a month away and presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are making their final push for voters. NBC10’s political reporter Lauren Mayk is traveling across Pennsylvania, a key swing state that could play a pivotal role in the presidential race.
From Oct. 7 through Oct. 11, Lauren will travel through different areas in the keystone state to speak with voters about Harris, Trump and the issues that matter the most to them in the presidential race. She'll also speak with election officials.
Each day, Lauren will air live reports during the 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts on NBC10. Those reports along with photos, videos, interviews and stories from Lauren’s journey will be embedded in this article.
Follow Lauren’s journey across Pennsylvania on NBC10 News, the NBC10 streaming channel and the NBC10 app.
Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
Butler, Pennsylvania, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024
Tonight, former President Donald Trump returned to Butler, Pennsylvania, taking the stage 12 weeks after an assassination attempt on his life that injured him and two others, killed one of his supporters and shook the entire country.
“Exactly twelve weeks ago this evening, on this very ground, a coldblooded assassin aimed to silence me and to silence the greatest movement, MAGA, in the history of our country. MAGA,” Trump said.
The rally honored Corey Comperatore, the former fire chief who was killed in the shooting back on July 13, 2024.
At Saturday’s event – which took place at the Butler Farm Show – there were reminders of the July 13 rally, including t-shirts as well as a statue that Bill Secunda made out of nails.
“Four hundred pounds, probably four thousand nails and probably three months worth of work,” Secunda said. “I even had to add the little nip on his ear there.”
Jacob Houk of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, also attended Saturday’s event after attending the July rally.
“Basically, the reason why I’m coming back here is just because I feel like it was important for him to come back and rally in this area,” Houk said. “And plus that was my first rally ever so it was terrible. It was a terrible first experience to ever have to deal with.”
Houk said he felt “great” about returning to Butler.
“I feel great. I mean, honestly, I feel more secure today,” Houk said.
Some of the security precautions were visible and Trump himself spoke behind a bulletproof glass.
The Secret Service was heavily scrutinized after the assassination attempt on Trump. They now say they’ve made “comprehensive changes and enhancements to our communications, capabilities, resourcing and protective operations.”
Billionaire Elon Musk also joined Trump at the rally.
“We had one president who couldn’t climb a flight of stairs and another who was fist pumping after getting shot,” Musk said, drawing cheers from the crowd. “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Saturday’s rally occurred a little more than a month before election day in a state that could be critical to the outcome.
"Twelve weeks ago we all took a bullet for America,” Trump said. “And all we are all asking is that everyone goes out and votes.”
One man attending the rally told me he was in Butler back in the summer with his wife. She didn’t return with him today. He said he didn’t like being around large crowds after that experience.
Battleground Politics
You can subscribe to Battleground Politics on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever else you get your favorite podcasts. You can also watch or listen to every episode right here on NBC10.com, the NBC10 YouTube channel, and in rotation on our streaming channels.
Subscribe to Battleground Politics anywhere you get your podcasts: Spotify | Amazon Music | Apple Podcasts | Google Play (soon) | Art19 | RSS | Watch on YouTube
