Former President Donald Trump held a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, marking his first return since surviving an assassination attempt in July.
Joining him on stage was Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, who has shifted his political support from Democrats to Trump for this election cycle. Sporting an “Occupy Mars” shirt and a black “Make America Great Again” cap, Musk humorously declared, “As you can see, I’m not just MAGA, I’m dark MAGA.”
Echoing Trump’s previous rally rhetoric, Musk urged the crowd, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” He emphasized the importance of the upcoming November elections, stating they are the “most important election in our lifetime” and asserted that Trump “must win to preserve democracy in America.” Musk cautioned the audience about the Democrats’ intentions, claiming they want to “take away your right to vote.”
In a jab at President Joe Biden, Musk remarked, “The true test of someone’s character is how they behave under fire. We had one president who couldn’t climb a flight of stairs and another who was fist-pumping after getting shot.”
Trump revisited the events of the assassination attempt, vowing, “I will never quit. I will never bend. I will never break. I will never yield, not even in the face of death itself.” He called for a moment of silence to honor the minute shots were fired at him during the July rally, which resulted in the death of one attendee and injuries to two others. The gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, was shot and killed by law enforcement at the scene.
Further into his speech, Trump criticized Democratic leaders for their handling of Hurricane Helene, which has severely impacted western North Carolina and parts of Tennessee, South Carolina, and Georgia.
Also present at the rally was Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, who remarked, “On this field at this exact spot, nearly three months ago, we thought President Trump was going to lose his life. But God still has a plan for him, just like He still has a plan for the United States of America.”
