Donald Trump rally held a week after he was shot

At another point, as he invited a supporter on stage, he quipped “he does not carry guns!”

Trump also talked about the shooting, acting out how he’d turned his head to look up at a chart of southern border crossings projected on a giant screen and narrowly dodging the bullet that hit his ear.

“I owe immigration my life,” he said. “It’s true.”

Hours before he took the stage, Trump’s supporters crowded the streets of downtown Grand Rapids ahead of the former president’s remarks. Supporters began lining up the morning the day before, and by Saturday afternoon (Sunday AEST), the line stretched close to a mile from the entrance of the 12,000-seat Van Andel Arena.

Many in the packed arena were seen wearing shirts featuring the image of Trump, on stage, after he was shot, pumping his fist in the air, along with the usual red “Make America Great Again” hats.

Mike Gaydos, who travelled from Indiana with his three sons to attend the rally, said he didn’t consider himself a “huge” Trump supporter in the past but wanted to show support for the former president following his attempted assassination.

“We can’t allow something like that to collar us,” he said. “Bravery is what I thought he showed that day and I want to show my sons about bravery as well.”

Numerous streets, closed to traffic as an additional security precaution, were dotted with vendors selling food and apparel. Among them was a vendor from North Carolina who said he had spent the night making shirts featuring “Trump Vance ’24”.

Downtown Grand Rapids also had a significant police presence, with officers stationed on nearly every block, while others patrolled on horseback and bicycles. The heightened security outside the venue created a tense environment, with some attendees mentioning that drones overhead had made them nervous. The event was held indoors – a change from last week in Pennsylvania, where the shooter fired from a rooftop outside the security perimeter.

Attendees were required to pass through a metal detector upon entering the downtown Grand Rapids indoor arena, yet the presence of security inside appeared consistent with previous events.

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“This is the tightest I’ve ever seen the security,” said Renee White, who said she has been to 33 Trump rallies. “We usually can bring in some small bags but today I had to just leave stuff out there.”

White was seated behind the podium at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where the gunman opened fire from a nearby rooftop. She described the shooting as “surreal” but said that it wouldn’t stop her from going to rallies.

“If I’m going to be taken out, at least I’m doing something I love to do, right?” said White.

Democrats have dominated recent elections in Michigan, but Republicans see an opening in the state as Democrats are increasingly divided about whether Biden should drop out of the race. Biden has insisted he is not quitting, and has attempted to turn the focus back towards Trump, saying on Friday that Trump’s acceptance speech at the Republican convention showcased a “dark vision for the future”.

Trump, at Saturday’s rally, polled the crowd on who they’d like to see as his opponent, with cheers for Biden and loud boos when Trump asked about Vice President Kamala Harris.

Later, Trump pushed back against efforts to cast him as an extremist, even as he has vowed mass deportations and threatened retribution against his political enemies.

“They keep saying, ‘He’s a threat to democracy…’ Last week I took a bullet for democracy,” he said to rousing cheers.

Trump also again tried to distance himself from the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, a policy and personnel plan for a second Trump term crafted by a host of former Trump administration officials.

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Trump blasted the project, which has become a centrepiece of Biden’s campaign against Trump, as “severe right” and “seriously extreme,” just like the “radical left”.

“I don’t know anything about it,” he insisted.

AP