‘Stand before you by grace of God’: Trump in first rally since assassination bid

Grand Rapids (US), Jul 21 (AP) Donald Trump is holding his first campaign rally since he survived an attempted assassination, returning to the battleground state of Michigan alongside his new running mate.

“It was exactly one week ago, even to the hour, even to the minute," Trump said, reflecting on the July 13 shooting in Pennsylvania that left him with a bloodied ear, killed one supporter in the crowd and left two others injured.

“I stand before you only by the grace of almighty God,” he said, the white gauze on his ear now replaced by a skin-coloured bandage.

“I shouldn't be here right now," he went on. “Something very special happened." Trump was joined by Ohio Sen. JD Vance at the pair's first event together since they became the GOP's nominees at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

“I find it hard to believe that a week ago, an assassin tried to take Donald Trump's life, and now we have got a hell of a crowd in Michigan to welcome him back on the campaign trail,” Vance said, speaking before Trump's arrival.

Michigan is one of the handful of crucial swing states expected to determine the outcome of November's presidential election. Trump narrowly won the state by just over 10,000 votes in 2016, but Democrat Joe Biden flipped it back in 2020, winning by a margin of 154,000 votes on his way to the presidency.

At the rally, Trump talked about the shooting, acting out how he turned his head toward a chart of southern border crossings projected on a giant screen, 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 in anticipation of the former president's remarks. Supporters began lining up Friday morning, and by Saturday afternoon, the line stretched close to a mile from the venue's entrance.

Close to an hour before he was set to take the stage, supporters had filled nearly every seat in the 12,000-person Van Andel Arena.

Many were seen wearing shirts featuring the image of Trump, on stage, after he was shot, pumping his fist in the air after surviving the shooting, 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 him following the attempted assassination.

Numerous streets, closed as an additional security precaution, were dotted with vendors selling food and apparel.

Downtown Grand Rapids also saw 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.

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.

“This is the tightest I've ever seen the security,” said Renee White, who said that she's been to 33 of Trump's 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.

She said she had become emotional when Trump, in his RNC speech to delegates, described the shooting in detail.

“I'm not supposed to be here tonight,” Trump told the packed convention hall. The crowd of thousands, which was listening in silence, shouted back, “Yes, you are.” Trump's choice of Vance was seen as a move to gain support among so-called Rust Belt voters in places like Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Ohio who helped Trump notch his surprise 2016 victory.

Democrats have dominated recent elections in Michigan, but Republicans now 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 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.

Trump and his team have tried to cast Democrats' efforts to replace Biden as a “coup," in what appears to be part of a larger effort to try to distract from Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election after he refused to accept the results and the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by his supporters.

“At this very moment, Democrat Party bosses are frantically trying to overthrow the results of their own party's primaries to dump Crooked Joe Biden from the ballot," he said. “As you're seeing, the Democratic Party is not the party of democracy. They're really the enemies of Democracy." 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 that was crafted by a host of former Trump administration officials.

Trump blasted the project, which has become a centerpiece 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.

The 81-year-old Democratic incumbent, who appeared in Detroit this month, is currently isolating at his beach home in Delaware recovering from COVID. AP