Former President Donald Trump promised Friday to go back to Butler, Pennsylvania, the town where a shooter attempted to assassinate him and killed one rally-goer during a campaign event nearly two weeks ago.
“I WILL BE GOING BACK TO BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA, FOR A BIG AND BEAUTIFUL RALLY, HONORING THE SOUL OF OUR BELOVED FIREFIGHTING HERO, COREY, AND THOSE BRAVE PATRIOTS INJURED TWO WEEKS AGO,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “WHAT A DAY IT WILL BE — FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT! STAY TUNED FOR DETAILS.”
He was referring to Corey Comperatore, a firefighter in the crowd who was killed by the gunman, and two other survivors who were hospitalized. As Secret Service officers ushered a bleeding Trump off the stage at the rally, the former president paused, raised his fist and chanted “fight, fight” — an image that instantly defined his campaign.
The announcement came nearly two weeks after the shooting and in the midst of an unusually chaotic news cycle. Since the shooting, Trump announced Sen. JD Vance as his running mate at the Republican National Convention and officially clinched the Republican presidential nomination, President Joe Biden announced he was dropping out of the race and Vice President Kamala Harris launched her own campaign.
Meanwhile, former USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned from her post Tuesday over her handling of the security at the Butler rally after fierce criticism from lawmakers. The Secret Service has since encouraged Trump to stop holding rallies outside. It’s unclear where the rally would be held in the town, which has a population of about 13,000, according to 2023 U.S. Census data. The Trump campaign had asked to hold the July 13 rally at the town’s regional airport, but there was already another event scheduled for that day, TribLive reported.