Donald Trump at the first rally after the assassination

2024-07-21 12:44:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Donald Trump

Donald Trump held a rally on Saturday in Michigan, one of the states expected to be decisive in determining the fate of the November election, along with his newly nominated candidate for the post of vice president. This was the first campaign rally since he survived an assassination attempt.

"It was exactly a week ago, even at this hour, even at this minute," Mr. Trump said, recalling the July 13 shooting in Pennsylvania that left him with a bleeding ear, killed one of his supporters and left behind him two other wounded.

"I stand before you only by the grace of God Almighty," he said, the white bandage on his ear now replaced by a leather-colored bandage. "I might not be here now."

Former President Trump was with Ohio Sen. JD Vance in their first appearance together since they were nominated at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Michigan is one of the states expected to determine the outcome of the November presidential election. Mr. Trump won by a margin of just over 10,000 votes in Michigan in 2016, but Democrat Joe Biden won the state in 2020 by a margin of 154,000 votes.

Mr. Trump's decision to nominate Senator Vance was seen as an effort to shore up support among voters in states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Ohio that helped him secure victory in 2016. Senator Vance singled out these states in the speech in his Republican National Assembly, emphasizing his poor childhood in small-town Ohio and vowing not to forget the working-class people he grew up among, "the jobs of who were displaced abroad and whose children were sent to wars".

After appearing unusually "humble" and emotional during the Republican National Convention, Mr. Trump returned to his usual campaign style, insulting his Democratic rivals, repeating untruths about the 2020 election and peppering it with jokes. his speech, which elicited laughter from an enthusiastic audience.

He also spoke about the shooting, telling how he had turned his head to see a sign about illegal crossings on the country's southern border displayed on a giant screen, avoiding the bullet that hit his ear.

"I owe my life to immigration," he said.

Trump distances himself from Project 2025

During the rally, Mr Trump resisted efforts to paint him as a threat to democracy and an extremist, although he has vowed mass deportations and threatened to punish his political rivals.

He also sought again to distance himself from the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, a policy plan for a second term for Mr Trump that was drawn up by a host of former administration officials.

Mr Trump criticized the project, which has become a central element of President Biden's campaign, as "extremely right-wing" and "seriously fringe", as well as "radical left".

"I don't know anything about it," he insisted./ VOA