Donald Trump has told a rally in Michigan that he “took a bullet for democracy” when an attempt was made on his life last week.
Attended by thousands, it was Trump’s first rally with new running mate JD Vance, and the first since he survived the assassination attempt.
He told a packed arena in Grand Rapids that Democrats have accused him of being “a threat to democracy” and, to huge applause, said he was ready to “take back the White House”.
In his speech, Trump thanked the “thousands and thousands” of people who came to see him “almost exactly” a week after the assassination attempt.
“I stand before you only by the grace of almighty God,” he said, repeating his belief that divine intervention saved him from being killed. Last week, I took a bullet for democracy.
“I’m not an extremist at all,” the former president said in his address to the rally in one of the swing states – Michigan – while dismissing his reported links to Project 2025, a shadow manifesto from figures close to him that has been characterised by opponents as an authoritarian, right-wing wish list.
An investigation is underway into the shooting last weekend, which left Trump with a wounded ear – though the prominent white bandage he wore throughout the Republican National Convention had on Saturday been replaced by a discreet flesh-toned plaster.
And he mocked the rival Democratic Party, roiled by unprecedented pressure for President Joe Biden to abandon his reelection bid amid concerns over his age and fitness to serve, if reelected, until 2029.
“They have no idea who their candidate is… This guy goes and he gets the votes, and now they want to take it away. That’s democracy,” Trump told the 12,000-strong crowd of passionate supporters.
In the fiery but typically rambling speech, the Republican president riffed on his hardline immigration views, while espousing falsehoods about migrant crime.
He also expressed admiration for foreign autocrats including the “brilliant” Xi Jinping of China, whom he praised for controlling “1.4 billion people with an iron fist.”
And he evoked the seconds after a gunman tried to kill him at a rally in Pennsylvania, when, bloodied and surrounded by Secret Service agents, he raised a fist and yelled for his supporters to “fight!”
The crowd in Grand Rapids chanted the word back to him Saturday more than once, though some appeared to tire of the lengthy address after 90 minutes and began filing out of the arena.
The rally represented a moment remarkable by any measure, with Trump back on stage exactly one week since the assassination attempt.
Security was reportedly tight inside the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, amid questions over Secret Service lapses at the Pennsylvania rally though there were few visible signs of any greater law enforcement presence.
Saturday was Trump’s debut campaign appearance with running mate J.D. Vance, a 39-year-old US senator from Ohio who could help win over critical swing states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Vance warmed up the crowd, taking a swipe at Harris.
“I did serve in the United States Marine Corps and build a business. What the hell have you done, other than collect a check?” he said of the former US senator and California attorney general.
Trump supporters had begun lining up in their dozens in Grand Rapids on Friday, nearly a full day before the rally began.
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