news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

[Text/Observer Network Chen Sijia] On July 20, local time, former US President and Republican presidential candidate Trump held a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This was his first appearance at a campaign rally after the "failed assassination attempt." According to the Associated Press, in his 100-minute speech, Trump mocked the Democratic Party's intention to "change the presidential candidate" and said that he "took a bullet for democracy."

Trump and his running mate, Republican vice presidential candidate Cyrus Vance, attended a campaign rally together. This was their first joint rally. In a brief speech of about 13 minutes, Cyrus criticized US Vice President Harris, accusing her of "opening the border to illegal immigrants" and "not bringing any benefits to Americans." He called on voters to support Trump and "bring some sense of security to the United States."

"It's hard for me to believe that a week ago an assassin tried to take Trump's life and now there's a huge crowd in Michigan welcoming him back to the campaign trail," Vance said.

Trump's speech lasted about 100 minutes. The New York Times said it might be the longest speech Trump has ever given at a campaign rally. The Associated Press pointed out that Trump called for "national unity" at the recent Republican National Convention, but at the campaign rally, he returned to his usual speaking style, mocking the Democrats and inserting jokes in his speech.

Trump mocked the Democratic Party for "violating democratic procedures" and trying to "overturn the results of the party's election" and "remove the current US President Biden from the ballot." "They don't know who their presidential candidate is, and neither do we, and that's a problem," Trump said. "Biden got the votes, but now we're taking his votes away. That's democracy."

Trump also accused the Democrats of portraying him as a "threat to democracy" and "extremists" and threatened to retaliate against political opponents. "They keep saying, 'He's a threat to democracy.' But I want to say, what have I done for democracy? Last week, I took a bullet for democracy."

On July 13, local time, Trump was shot in the ear during an "attempted assassination" at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. The U.S. Secret Service said the attacker fired several shots at the rally site, killing one spectator and injuring two others. The gunman was shot dead by Secret Service agents.

Talking about the shooting, Trump recalled that when the gunman opened fire, he happened to turn around and look at the immigration data on the teleprompter, thus avoiding the bullet. Trump claimed: "I can stand in front of you now, all thanks to God." He repeated his speech after the shooting, calling on supporters to "fight together."

The Associated Press mentioned that the white bandage on Trump's right ear has been replaced with a smaller bandage. During the speech, Trump also invited a supporter to the stage and joked that "he didn't bring a gun."

Trump praised Tesla CEO Elon Musk when talking about the auto industry, saying he has always maintained a "good relationship" with Musk. He told supporters at the rally: "I love Elon Musk. Do we like him? I love him. We have to make a good life for smart people like Musk."

After Trump was shot, Musk immediately expressed his support for Trump. Recently, the US media broke the news that Musk planned to donate $45 million a month to Trump's campaign organization, but Trump denied the rumor at the rally. Trump said: "I saw the report, I didn't even know about it, and he didn't tell me about the $45 million donation a month."

In addition, Trump attacked US Vice President Harris and former House Speaker Pelosi in his speech, calling them "crazy people." He mocked Pelosi for being "disloyal" to Biden: "Do you see Nancy Pelosi selling out Biden? Do you see her betraying Biden like a dog?"

The Associated Press said Trump's speech was criticized by the Biden campaign. A spokesman for the Biden campaign responded in a statement: "He (Trump) peddled lies, launched a campaign of revenge, promoted failed policies, and, as always, only focused on himself."

Due to Biden's poor performance in last month's TV debate, some Democratic lawmakers are calling on Biden to withdraw from the 2024 US election. CNN quoted sources on the 18th as saying that Pelosi, a senior Democrat, warned Biden in a private call that he could not defeat Trump in the November election.

After Trump experienced an "attempted assassination", the US police strengthened the security measures for Trump's campaign rally. According to US media, there are police stationed on almost every street in Grand Rapids, and patrol officers will patrol on horseback or bicycles. All spectators must pass through metal detectors when entering, but the security personnel configuration in the venue seems to be consistent with previous campaign rallies.

CNN mentioned that the day before the rally, the US police arrested a Florida man who threatened to "kill Trump and Vance" on social media. Local police said that after receiving a call from residents, law enforcement agencies investigated the man's social media account and arrested him on the 19th.

Michigan is one of the key "swing states" that determine the outcome of the US presidential election. In 2016, Trump won Michigan by a narrow margin of more than 10,000 votes. But in 2020, Biden won Michigan by a significant margin of 154,000 votes. The Associated Press speculated that Trump's choice of Vance, who comes from a working-class background, as his running mate may be to win the support of voters in Michigan and other "rust belts".

This article is an exclusive article of Observer.com and may not be reproduced without authorization.