‘I Took A Bullet For Democracy’: Trump, Vance Hold Swing-State Rally Just One Week After Assassination Attempt

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — Former President Donald Trump and Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio held their first joint rally together in Michigan on Saturday, a state that the pair is seeking to turn red after President Joe Biden won it in 2020.

The event in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was the first rally since Trump survived an assassin’s bullet in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 — a shooting that injured the GOP nominee’s ear and caused the death of Corey Comperatore, a veteran and former volunteer fire chief.

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“They keep saying [I’m] a threat to democracy. I’m saying, what the hell did I do for democracy? Last week, I took a bullet for democracy,” Trump said Saturday.

The Republican nominee distanced himself from the Heritage Foundation’s project 2025, calling it “extreme,” a statement that puts him at odds with some on the right who are hoping he will implement many of the initiatives in the nearly 1,000 page plan.

On his pick for vice president, Trump said he chose Vance “because he’s for the worker.”

Vance acknowledged his Midwestern roots by poking fun at the Michigan attendees, acknowledging the rivalry between the states of Ohio and Michigan. “I am going to respect Michigan my Ohio brethren. We have to win Michigan,” Vance said.

Security appeared to be increased following Saturday’s tragic events. Local police patrolled the streets of the city on bikes, horseback and vehicles. Secret Service shadowed Trump as he approached the stage as local police stood guard in the upper deck above the stage.

The Secret Service, Michigan State Police and Grand Rapids Police Department did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the DCNF.

Trump: ‘I stand before you only by the grace of almighty God’

“I stand before you only by the grace of almighty God,” Trump said at his Saturday rally. “I shouldn’t be here. Maybe J.D. or somebody else would be here, but I shouldn’t be here right now,” Trump said.

Twenty-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired into the crowd of rally goers using an AR-15 on July 13, wounding Trump in the ear and killing Comperatore. Two others were also injured in the attack. No clear explanation has been determined since the assassination attempt, but much of the focus has been on the roles the Secret Service and local police played in the major security failure at the event.

Crooks reportedly flew a drone hours before the rally to scope the surroundings, according to The Wall Street Journal. Crooks was later killed by a law enforcement sniper who fired at Crooks from an adjacent building.

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said the building that Crooks fired from had a sloped roof, which presented challenges to law enforcement. Secret Service was responsible for securing the inner perimeter of the rally, while local law enforcement was responsible for the outer perimeter, she claimed. “That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof, Cheatle said during a Tuesday interview with ABC News.

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