Donald Trump condemns ‘evil monster’ who shot him as he makes triumphant return to Butler, Pennsylvania where he cheated death

Donald Trump recalled the “harrowing 16 seconds” when a gunman unleashed a hail of bullets at him as he defiantly returned to the scene.

Addressing a crown in Butler, Pennsylvania, the former president told a huge crowd: Thank you very much to Pennsylvania, we love Pennsylvania. And like I said…’

To deafening cheers, he then gestured to a large screen showing an immigration card, the same card he had shown when he was shot.

Trump said: “At this point, a cold-blooded murderer tried to silence me and silence the greatest movement – ​​MAGA – in the history of our country. MAGA, we love MAGA.

‘During the gunfire, time stood still for 16 harrowing seconds as this vicious monster unleashed pure evil from his sniper’s spot not so far away.

“But by the hand of Providence and the grace of God that villain failed to accomplish his purpose, he did not come close to stopping our movement. He has not shaken our unyielding resolve to save America.”

Looking at tens of thousands of supporters, Trump said, “This is a big crowd. First of all, I want to thank the men and women of the Secret Service who threw their bodies on me.”

He added, “I return to Butler in the wake of tragedy and heartache to deliver a simple message to the people of Pennsylvania and America.”

“Our movement to Make America Great Again stands stronger, prouder, more united and determined, and closer to victory than ever.”

He added: “I will never give up, I will never bend, I will never break, I will never give in, even in the face of death itself.

“We fought together, we endured together, we advanced together, and here in Pennsylvania we bled together.”

Behind him in the stands was the firefighter uniform of Corey Comperatore, a supporter killed in the July 13 attack.

After calling for a moment of silence, the bells rang and Trump called on opera singer Christopher Macchio to sing “Ave Maria.”

The former president interrupted the rally after a woman fainted and the crowd shouted, “We love Trump!” and sang the national anthem for about four minutes while she was attended.

Trump then ridiculed Vice President Kamala Harris after her teleprompter experienced technical problems during a recent rally.

“The teleprompter went off, so did they,” he said as the crowd laughed. “I don’t use too many teleprompters,” Trump said.

He also criticized Harris for ignoring storm victims as they “dined in San Francisco” at campaign fundraisers.

“If I thought they were doing even a modestly decent job, I wouldn’t have run,” Trump said.

He went through a list of attacks on Harris, particularly her and Biden’s failure to secure the border.

“She lost more than 325,000 migrant children who were dead, missing or in slavery, never to see their parents again,” he said.

“Kamala Harris is a radical left Marxist, she was laughed at in Congress, no one thought she could win,” he said.

On July 13, Trump’s ear was hit when gunman Thomas Crooks unleashed a hail of bullets from a nearby rooftop after a series of catastrophic Secret Service failures.

This time, the Secret Service placed a steel ring around the Butler Farm Show grounds, including snipers on the roof of the glass company warehouse where Crook shot from.

There were also cargo containers blocking the view, police on horseback and drones buzzing overhead.

Many of the tens of thousands of supporters, including families, had been there on July 13 and were returning.

JD Vance, his running mate, told the crowd: “A murderer tried to fill our hearts with fear. We are here to say that we cannot be intimidated, we cannot be stopped, we will not be denied.

“Many of you were here and it is a testament to your courage and your patriotism that you are here again today.

‘Now you heard the shots, you saw the blood. We all feared the worst. But you knew everything was going to be okay when President Trump raised his fist high in the air and shouted, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”;

The crowd sang

How dare you say that Donald Trump is a threat to democracy? Donald Trump has taken a bullet for democracy. What the hell did you do?