BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA — An estimated 100,000 people rallied for Donald Trump’s return to Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, the former president’s campaign told The Daily Wire.
Trump stood in the exact spot where he was shot on July 13, the day that an attempted assassin tried to take his life, killing Corey Comperatore and injuring two others. Trump and others honored Comperatore, who died shielding his wife and daughter from bullets, at Saturday’s rally.
Attendees stood in line for hours in order to secure a spot as close as possible to the former president, who took the stage around 6 p.m., an hour after he was scheduled to appear. His late arrival was timed so that he would be on stage at 6:11 pm, Trump said, the moment when bullets began to fly.
When the clock struck 6:11 p.m., Trump called for a moment of silence as a bell tolled in Comperatore’s honor. Then Trump invited acclaimed tenor Christopher Macchio on stage for an emotional rendition of Schubert’s “Ave Maria,” during which time attendees could be seen wiping tears from their eyes.
In a gesture of remembrance to Comperatore, the Trump campaign marked off the spot where he was shot, covering the chair with his firefighter uniform. The neon stripes in the uniform jacket made it easy to see across the crowd, and the speakers repeatedly turned around to point to that seat and remind the audience of his sacrifice.
COMING BACK OUT TO SING MOMENTARILY FOR @realDonaldTrump , with patriot @elonmusk on hand! pic.twitter.com/BMB5FbyYBZ
— Christopher Macchio (@ChrisMacchio) October 5, 2024
The Daily Wire spoke with many attendees on the ground in Butler about their support for Trump and their hopes for the 2024 election. A number of these individuals were present at the July 13 rally and returned Saturday to show their support for the president.
Trump voter addresses whether she was nervous to attend Saturday’s rally: “I don’t think we should let them scare us off!” pic.twitter.com/lmW9kciI1R
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) October 5, 2024
“I thought the rally was pretty amazing,” 25-year-old Paige Eritz told The Daily Wire after the event, describing herself as incredibly fortunate to return to Butler after she witnessed Trump survive the July 13 shooting.
She was seated behind Trump on Saturday, just as she was on July 13, “which was very special to me,” she said.
“I also noticed that the security was more in place this time around, when we were in line in the beginning, I felt like there was more structure, more security, more eyes on everyone, even though this crowd was larger than the one on July 13,” she shared. “I felt like they were very prepared for it, which was very comforting, to say the least.”
Paige Eritz smiles for a photo at the Butler rally on Saturday.
One young man who spoke with The Daily Wire said he will be voting for the first time this year and plans to vote for Trump.
“I like how he is a business man. I like his policies for the country, especially the border. And I like his vice president,” he added. “I love him. I like how he came up from nothing….he held himself up really well in the vice presidential debate,” the young man said about Sen. JD Vance (R-OH).
Vance met with reporters behind the main stage to take questions after the rally ended. Asked about Elon Musk’s suggestion that “this will be the last election” if Trump does not win, Vance said: “I certainly hope it’s not.”
JD Vance speaks to @realDailyWire in Butler last night, addressing Elon Musk’s suggestion that “this will be the last election” if Kamala wins: pic.twitter.com/EfpH5jbJHp
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) October 6, 2024
“One of the things that you see is an astonishing willingness from Democratic leadership in this country, to talk about giving the right to vote to millions of upon millions of illegal aliens,” Vance told The Daily Wire. “If you take millions of people who shouldn’t be here and give them the right to vote, that fundamentally deprives American citizens of their constitutional right to vote.”
“And so I think what Elon is saying is if we don’t get this right, and get our border right, and stop giving away or at least offering to give away the right to vote to millions of people who don’t have the legal right to be here, then I do think it will permanently transform this country in a very negative way.”
Many of those on the ground emphasized to The Daily Wire that they felt enormous significance in Trump’s return to Butler.
“Courage, maybe, is not the right word,” one Trump supporter said. “It’s triumph.”
This Trump supporter shared that he was at the Butler rally on July 13 when Trump was shot. I asked him if Saturday’s rally held any special significance for him.
“Courage, maybe, is not the right word,” he said.
“It’s triumph.” pic.twitter.com/OWm8WIJhb1
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) October 6, 2024
