Trump says he ‘took a bullet for democracy’ at 1st rally after assassination bid

Former US President Donald Trump, still recovering from an assassination attempt last week, declared at his first campaign rally since the incident that he “took a bullet for democracy.”

“They keep saying, ‘He’s a threat to democracy…’ Last week I took a bullet for democracy,” Trump said to rousing cheers from the crowd in Grand Rapids, in the key battleground state of Michigan.

Trump, who was shot in the ear during the July 13 incident in Pennsylvania, wore a smaller, flesh-tone bandage on his right ear at the rally. He reflected on the shooting, which killed one of his supporters and left two others injured.

“It was exactly one week ago, even to the hour, even to the minute,” Trump said. “I stand before you only by the grace of almighty God. I shouldn’t be here right now.”

Trump repeatedly referenced the assassination attempt, expressing his gratitude for surviving the ordeal. “I hope I don’t have to go through that again. It was so horrible,” he said.

The rally, which Trump attended alongside his newly named running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, saw the Republican presidential nominee mount a blistering attack on Democratic rivals and mock US President Joe Biden as a “feeble old guy.”.

He derided the leadership chaos within the Democratic party, saying, “They have no idea who their candidate is, and neither do we.”

Trump also targeted senior Democrats, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, for trying to persuade President Joe Biden to end his re-election bid.

“She’s turned on him like a dog. She’s as crazy as a bed bug,” he said.

Trump also distanced himself from the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, a policy and personnel plan for a second Trump term. He described the project as “severe right” and “seriously extreme,” likening it to the “radical left.”

“I don’t know anything about it,” he insisted.

Trump praised Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin as “smart, tough” leaders. He claimed to have a great rapport with Xi, whom he described as a “brilliant” man who “controls 1.4 billion people with an iron fist”.

Xi “makes guys like Biden look like babies”, he quipped.

Trump promised to prevent “world war three” and to settle the Russia-Ukraine conflict if re-elected. “You’re very close to world war,” he warned, asserting that various international crises would not have occurred under his leadership.

He also vowed to overhaul Washington DC, and rebuild American cities, pledging to work with Democratic governors and mayors. On education, Trump said he would cut federal funding for schools promoting critical race theory or “inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content.”

The rally at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids was heavily secured, with a strong police presence on every street corner for several blocks. US Secret Service officers were positioned on the top balconies in the arena, providing a bird’s eye view of the crowd inside.