Donald Trump has returned to the site where he survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania – and opened with a joke.

“Thank you,” he told a large crowd, reportedly in the tens of thousands. “A very big thank you. We love Pennsylvania, and, as I was saying…” – which sparked cheers from the audience.

He added: “I return to Butler to deliver a simple message… We are going to make America great again, we are going to win the election.”

Discussing the assassination attempt, Mr Trump said the gunman “aimed to silence me and the MAGA movement”.

He continued: “For 16 seconds, time stopped as this vicious monster unleashed pure evil. That villain did not succeed.”

Discussing his campaign for the White House, he promised to halve energy prices, pledged large tax cuts, and claimed his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, is strongly left wing.

He also promised that the US will “reach Mars” before the end of his second term, should he be re-elected, and pledged “no men in women’s sports”.

Shortly after Mr Trump started speaking the crowd chanted “Corey”, referencing firefighter Corey Comperatore, who died as he shielded his family from the gunfire on 13 July.

At 6.11pm, the time when shots rang out, Mr Trump called for a moment of silence. A bell tolled four times, once for each of the four victims, including him.

Some in the crowd chanted “fight, fight, fight” – the slogan Mr Trump used to rally his followers moments after he was shot.

He later repeated the phrase himself, while his vice presidential nominee, JD Vance, said the former president “took a bullet for democracy”.

There was a pause while a member of the crowd was treated by medics – and a spontaneous rendition of the American national anthem.

Elon Musk, the tycoon behind Tesla and SpaceX, took to the stage briefly and urged people to register to vote.

The entrepreneur said there is no truer test than courage under fire. In an apparent reference to Joe Biden, he said the US previously had one presidential candidate who “couldn’t climb a flight of stairs”, and another who shouted “fight, fight, fight”.

In addition, he claimed Mr Trump must win next month’s presidential election “to preserve the constitution” and to “preserve democracy in America”.

“This is a must-win situation,” Mr Musk said.

Mr Trump was back at Butler Farm Show grounds – the location where a bullet appeared to hit his ear in July.

He was whisked off stage with blood dripping across his face in one of the defining images of this year’s campaign.

Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, opened fire from an unsecured rooftop before being fatally shot.

His motive for the shooting is still unknown. The incident raised serious questions about security failures within the Secret Service.

Its director, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned less than two weeks after the shooting.

Read more:
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A second attempt was allegedly made on Mr Trump’s life last month when a gunman hid undetected for nearly 12 hours at the former president’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, with plans to kill him, prosecutors have said.

The alleged gunman was stopped by a Secret Service agent patrolling the course ahead of the former president.

It was always probable that Donald Trump would return to Butler; that he would want to go back to the place where he almost died.

That moment exactly twelve weeks ago was more than a near-death experience. For his most loyal supporters, it underlined the increasingly divine status that he carries.

In the crowd, Trump signs had been redesigned: “Trump” replaced with “Jesus”. One supporter arrived pulling a life-sized crucifix.

As always, the choreography was, for the audience, pitch-perfect. The Top Gun theme tune filled the Pennsylvania countryside as his plane, branded TRUMP, flew low overhead.

The fly-past prompted huge cheers. Photographers on board captured the huge crowd below at the same showground where the assassination attempt had jolted this extraordinary election campaign back in July.

He walked on to the same stage, but this time with so much more security, to a podium flanked on three sides with bulletproof glass.

“As I was saying…,” he said, picking up from that July interruption. He pointed up to the same chart he’d turned to look at back then; the head tilt which had saved his life.

It began as an evening of reflection. It was a night to remember the life of Corey Comperatore, the man who died from the shots which skimmed the former president.

“We’re here for a reason, and that’s to win… and to honour Corey. But Corey wants us to win too,” he said.

There was a moment of silence, quickly filled with an operatic rendition of Ave Maria. It was poignant but purposely, overtly political, too.

And then came the other moment which set this rally apart from all the rest. Elon Musk, the tech billionaire with such huge online influence, seemed almost giddy to be there. He jumped onto the stage, pumping the air with child-like enthusiasm.

The core message from the world’s richest man to the people of a town with an average salary a third below the national average was to get out and vote. “Make sure you’re registered,” he said, suggesting a campaign nervous about turnout.

“The other side wants to take away your freedom of speech,” he said. “They want to take away your right to bear arms. They want to take away your right to vote effectively.”

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None of that is true, but it seems that doesn’t matter for a man once apolitical but now full throttle for Trump.

The shooting back in July, and Mr Trump’s remarkable reaction to it, supercharged his campaign. But it was a campaign then against Joe Biden.

Now Kamala Harris is his opponent and the polls have tightened considerably and so the rally fell into a familiar meandering rhythm. In trademark form he shuttled through the push-button issues and more in single sentences.

“All of the migrants coming in are going on between Medicare, social security, other programmes, and nobody is able to afford it, and I will settle the war in Ukraine, I will end the chaos in the Middle East and I will prevent, I promise you, World War Three; we’re not going to have World War Three, and right now we’re very close to having it. We will lead the world in space exploration – thank you, Elon – we will lead the world in military and we will reach Mars before the end of my term,” he said.

Here they see him as a living martyr. It is why he came back; to revive that moment of defiance in a must-win state, in a campaign so close and with just a month to run.

Donald Trump has returned to the site where he survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania – and opened with a joke.

“Thank you,” he told a large crowd, reportedly in the tens of thousands. “A very big thank you. We love Pennsylvania, and, as I was saying…” – which sparked cheers from the audience.

He added: “I return to Butler to deliver a simple message… We are going to make America great again, we are going to win the election.”

Discussing the assassination attempt, Mr Trump said the gunman “aimed to silence me and the MAGA movement”.

He continued: “For 16 seconds, time stopped as this vicious monster unleashed pure evil. That villain did not succeed.”

Discussing his campaign for the White House, he promised to cut energy prices in half, pledged large tax cuts, and claimed his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, is strongly left wing.

He also promised to “reach Mars” before the end of his second term, should he be re-elected, and pledged “no men in women’s sports”.

Shortly after Mr Trump started speaking, the crowd began chanting “Corey”, referencing firefighter Corey Comperatore, who died as he shielded his family from the gunfire.

At 6.11pm, the time when shots rang out on 13 July, Mr Trump called for a moment of silence. A bell tolled four times, once for each of the four victims, including him.

Some in the crowd chanted “fight, fight, fight” – the slogan Mr Trump used to rally his followers moments after he was shot.

He later repeated the phrase himself, while his vice presidential nominee, JD Vance, said the former president “took a bullet for democracy”.

There was a pause while a member of the crowd was treated by medics – and a spontaneous rendition of the American national anthem.

Elon Musk, the tycoon behind Tesla and SpaceX, took to the stage briefly and urged people to register to vote.

The entrepreneur said there is no truer test than courage under fire. In an apparent reference to Joe Biden, he said the US previously had one presidential candidate who “couldn’t climb a flight of stairs”, and another who shouted “fight, fight, fight”.

In addition, he claimed Mr Trump must win next month’s presidential election “to preserve the constitution” and to “preserve democracy in America”.

“This is a must-win situation,” Mr Musk said.

Mr Trump was back at Butler Farm Show grounds – the location where a bullet appeared to hit his ear in July.

He was whisked off stage with blood dripping across his face in one of the defining images of this year’s campaign.

Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, opened fire from an unsecured rooftop before being fatally shot.

His motive for the shooting is still unknown. The incident raised serious questions about security failures within the Secret Service.

Its director, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned less than two weeks after the shooting.

Read more:
Trump v Harris – how their records compare
Melania Trump speaks out on abortion rights
How does Trump keep his support so strong?

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

A second attempt was allegedly made on Mr Trump’s life last month when a gunman hid undetected for nearly 12 hours at the former president’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, with plans to kill him, prosecutors have said.

The alleged gunman was stopped by a Secret Service agent patrolling the course ahead of the former president.