Donald Trump pledges Mars exploration as he returns to site of assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania
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”.
Elon Musk joined Donald Trump on stage. Pic: Reuters
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”.
Vice presidential nominee JD Vance and Elon Musk. Pic: Reuters
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.
Pic: AP
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.
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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.
Elon Musk has stepped up his attacks on Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill – weeks after a spectacular fallout between the world’s richest man and the US president.
Following weeks of relative silence after clashing with Mr Trump over his “big beautiful bill”, the billionaire vowed to unseat politicians who support it.
In a post on X, Musk said those who had campaigned on cutting spending but then backed the bill “should hang their heads in shame”.
He added: “And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”
Musk also threatened to put their faces on a poster which said “liar” and “voted to increase America’s debt” by $5trn (£3.6trn).
The posts attracted a swift reply from Mr Trump, who claimed the billionaire “may get more subsidy than any human being in history” for his electric car business.
“Without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!”
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Musk spent at least $250m (£182m) supporting Mr Trump in his presidential campaign and then led the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which sacked about 120,000 federal employees.
He has argued the legislation would greatly increase the US national debt and wipe out the savings he claimed he achieved through DOGE.
As the Senate discussed the package, Musk called it “utterly insane and destructive”.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO said the bill’s massive spending indicated “we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!!”
“Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people,” he wrote.
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Musk previously said some of his social media posts during his dramatic fallout with Mr Trump “went too far”.
He had shared a series of posts on X, including one that described Mr Trump’s tax and spending bill as a “disgusting abomination”.
He also claimed, in a since-deleted post, that the president appeared in files relating to the disgraced paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
But Musk later wrote: “I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far.”
In response, the president told the New York Post: “I thought it was very nice that he did that.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting Donald Trump next Monday, according to US officials.
The visit on 7 July comes after Mr Trump suggested it was possible a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached within a week.
On Sunday, he wrote on social media: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”
At least 60 people killed across Gaza on Monday, in what turned out to be some of the heaviest attacks in weeks.
Benjamin Netanyahu, left, with Donald Trump during a previous meeting. Pic: Reuters
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 56,500 people have been killed in the 20-month war.
The visit by Mr Netanyahu to Washington has not been formally announced and the officials who said it would be going ahead spoke on condition of anonymity.
An Israeli official in Washington also confirmed the meeting next Monday.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was in constant communication with the Israeli government.
She said Mr Trump viewed ending the war in Gaza and returning remaining hostages held by Hamas as a top priority.
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The war in Gaza broke out in retaliation for Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw a further 250 taken hostage.
An eight-week ceasefire was reached in the final days of Joe Biden’s US presidency, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps.
Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled over whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire.
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