Tim Reed
GRAND RAPIDS (Reuters) – Donald Trump will hold his first campaign rally on Saturday since a near-miss against assassination a week ago, fresh off a nominating convention that solidified his takeover of the Republican Party.
Trump will appear in the battleground state of Grand Rapids, Michigan, with his new vice presidential candidate, Ohio U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance. This will be their first campaign as the now official Republican presidential candidates.
Republican officials told Trump at his nominating convention in Milwaukee this week that Saturday’s brush with death had changed him and that he will appeal for national unity when he delivers his acceptance speech on Thursday night.
While Trump began his speech with a call for unity and national healing, much of his address was devoted to his well-known grievances and attacks on his opponents.
It’s unclear what type of speech Trump will deliver on Saturday, but his die-hard supporters typically flock to such events to hear his more traditional incendiary rhetoric.
After this week’s nominating convention, Trump and Vance will take the stage in Grand Rapids with the unified support of the Republican Party. By contrast, the Democratic Party is in disarray and it is no longer certain whether President Joe Biden will be the Democratic candidate to face Trump in the November 5 election.
After a poor performance in last month’s debate with Trump, Biden faces growing calls from many of his own party’s elected officials to resign as his party’s White House nominee and end his re-election bid.
Biden is trailing in the polls and trailing Trump in every battleground state. Many Democrats fear he has little path to victory and that the party needs a new presidential candidate to take on Trump.
The rally in Grand Rapids will be held indoors, unlike last weekend’s outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. At that event, a gunman climbed onto the roof of a building outside the Secret Service and shot Trump, severing his ear, killing one rally attendee and wounding several others.
The U.S. Secret Service, which is charged with protecting Trump, declined to comment on security at the Grand Rapids event. An investigation into the security incident at the Butler rally is currently underway.
“The Secret Service does not discuss the tools and methods used in our protective operations,” the agency said in a statement.
Trump detailed his brush with death during his convention speech on Thursday, telling the audience that he was only speaking to them “by the grace of Almighty God.”
