On Saturday, former president and Republican presidential candidate Trump (Trump) will return to Butler, Pennsylvania for a rally. In July, he was shot at this location, fortunately, the bullet only passed through his ear and did not cause serious harm.
Trump plans to hold the rally at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time at the Butler Farm Show Grounds. The venue has been under lockdown due to the ongoing investigation of the attack.
“I am going back to Butler because I feel I have an obligation to return to Butler,” Trump told NewsNation’s host Chris Cuomo.
“We have not completed what we should have done,” Trump said. “When I was shot that day, I said we would come back.”
“We will be back soon, fulfilling promises, fulfilling obligations,” he added.
According to WPXI, a news branch of NBC Pittsburgh, Secret Service personnel have been working in Butler all week.
Butler County Sheriff Mike Slupe told WPXI, “The Secret Service presence may have quadrupled compared to July.”
On Tuesday (1st), Biden signed a bipartisan bill requiring presidential and vice-presidential candidates to receive Secret Service protection equivalent to that given to the current president and vice president. Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe told the media last month that Trump has already received Secret Service protection at the same level as Biden.
In Butler, Trump may speak behind bulletproof glass. He spoke behind bulletproof glass at an outdoor rally in North Carolina in August as well.
It is currently unclear what security measures will be different for attendees at the rally. Attendees at the July event told the local newspaper The Philadelphia Inquirer that they needed to pass through luggage checks and metal detectors, similar to security measures at other Trump rallies.
Fox interviewed a survivor who attended the July Trump rally. She also expressed a similar sentiment to Trump, that this is a continuation of unfinished business from last time.
Senator JD Vance, who just finished the vice-presidential debate this week, will join the rally on Saturday alongside Trump. Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick from Pennsylvania, who just finished his first debate with incumbent Senator Bob Casey, will also attend. Billionaire Elon Musk announced that he will also be at the rally on Saturday.
Trump’s rally on Saturday will be held at the Butler Farm Show Grounds in Butler, located north of Pittsburgh in western Pennsylvania.
In the attempted assassination on July 13, former Buffalo Township Fire Department Chief Corey Comperatore tragically lost his life, and two other bystanders were injured and hospitalized.
Trump’s campaign team said the former president plans to honor Comperatore and other victims at the Saturday rally and express “deep appreciation to law enforcement.”
This is Trump’s 10th visit to Pennsylvania since the attempted assassination in July.
The rally is set to open to the public at 10 a.m., and Trump is scheduled to speak at 5 p.m.
It is currently unclear how long Trump’s speech will last, but his typical campaign speeches last about 1 hour and 20 minutes. His speech in Wisconsin on Tuesday lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes, while his speech in Illinois over the weekend lasted nearly two hours.
Throughout the campaign, tickets have been available through Trump’s campaign website on a first-come, first-served basis.
Campaign events restrict each person to apply for up to two tickets.
Authorities have yet to announce any specific lockdowns related to Trump’s rally on Saturday. Prior to Trump’s July rally, Pennsylvania police advised drivers to avoid Route 68 due to traffic congestion.
Alternate routes include I-79, Route 8, and Route 422.
It is currently unclear where Vice President Harris will campaign on Saturday.
Harris participated in campaign events in Detroit and Flint, Michigan on Friday and then returned to Washington, D.C. This was her first event in Michigan since her interview with Oprah Winfrey in Detroit on September 19.
Harris paused campaign events in recent days to visit areas in Georgia and North Carolina affected by Hurricane Helen. She had planned to travel to central Pennsylvania with her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, after Tuesday’s vice-presidential debate.
Walz has already attended rallies with Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman in Harrisburg, Reading, and York this week.
Former President Obama will travel to Pennsylvania to campaign for Harris. He is expected to start a series of battleground state visits in Pittsburgh next Thursday.