{"id":2351173,"date":"2024-10-05T16:32:02","date_gmt":"2024-10-05T20:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/thousands-descend-on-butler-for-trumps-raucous-return-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-10-05T16:33:52","modified_gmt":"2024-10-05T20:33:52","slug":"thousands-descend-on-butler-for-trumps-raucous-return-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/thousands-descend-on-butler-for-trumps-raucous-return-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Thousands descend on Butler for Trump&#8217;s raucous return &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthousands-descend-on-butler-for-trumps-raucous-return-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2351173&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A recent rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, attracted thousands of supporters of \u2064former President Donald Trump, marking his return to a location \u2064significant due to\u2062 a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/iraqi-govt-blames-shiite-groups-for-botched-attack-on-prime-minister-2\/\" title=\"Iraqi Govt. blames Shi\u2019ite groups for botched attack on prime minister\">recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/amnesty-international-strips-aleksei-navalny-of-prisoner-of-conscience-status-for-decades-old-comments-on-immigration\/\" title=\"Amnesty International Strips Aleksei Navalny Of \u2018Prisoner Of Conscience\u2019 Status For Decades-Old Comments On Immigration\">assassination attempt<\/a><\/a> on him. Attendees \u2064celebrated not only Trump&#8217;s resilience but also honored the victims\u2062 of the July shooting \u200dthat claimed the life of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gabby-petitos-father-gives-eulogy-if-there-is-a-relationship-that-youre-in-that-might-not-be-the-best-thing-for-you-leave-it-now\/\" title=\"Gabby Petito\u2019s Father Gives Eulogy: \u2018If There Is A Relationship That You\u2019re In That Might Not Be The Best Thing For You, Leave It. Now.\u2019\">local fire chief<\/a>. The rally had a festive atmosphere, complete with food trucks and aerial displays, as supporters expressed their confidence in Trump&#8217;s political \u200bcomeback ahead of the 2024 elections.<\/p>\n<p>First-time rally-goers cited the \u200brecent events and Trump&#8217;s \u200bstance on key issues as motivations for attending. Republican voter registration has\u2062 been increasing\u200c in Pennsylvania, a trend that could impact \u200dupcoming election results \u200din a state known\u200b for its narrow margins. While Democrats still maintain an overall voter registration \u2064lead, the gap is closing, indicating \u2064a\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-target-record-72-democrat-held-districts-for-midterms\/\" title=\"Republicans Target Record 72 Democrat-Held Districts for Midterms\">potentially competitive race<\/a> \u200dagainst Vice President Kamala Harris.<\/p>\n<p>Attendees highlighted concerns about immigration and the economy as their\u200c primary issues. Despite the upbeat mood, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fmr-capitol-police-chief-sends-letter-explaining-how-intel-community-failed-to-respond-to-jan-6-protests\/\" title=\"Fmr. Capitol Police chief sends letter explaining how Intel Community failed to respond to Jan. 6 protests\">heightened security measures<\/a> were evident compared to previous rallies, reflecting the\u2063 seriousness \u200bof the events that had unfolded just months \u2063prior.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Thousands descend on Butler for raucous return of their hero Donald Trump<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1776978\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>BUTLER, Pennsylvania &mdash;<\/strong> Thousands of supporters of former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Donald Trump<\/a> descended on Butler, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pennsylvania\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Pennsylvania<\/a>, for his return to the place where he almost lost his life three months ago.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The demonstration of enthusiasm on Saturday, particularly from first-time rally-goers, may become an&nbsp;important advantage for Trump during the next 31 days, in which voters have to cast their ballots in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2024-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>an election<\/a> that is predicted to be decided at the margins in battlegrounds such as the Keystone State.<\/p>\n<p>The Trump campaign is commemorating those who were not as fortunate as the former president when Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, opened fire at Butler Farm Show on July 13, namely former volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore, 50, who died during the shooting. Chants of &ldquo;Corey, Corey, Corey!&rdquo; and &ldquo;Fight, fight, fight!&rdquo; rang out repeatedly during the&nbsp;rally, even before Trump arrived.<\/p>\n<p>The grounds and surrounding neighborhood adopted an almost carnival-like atmosphere, from food trucks and picnic rugs to an aerial parasailing display and roaring applause for the arrival of Trump Force One, with supporters projecting the same confidence they and the campaign had this summer when it appeared almost certain Trump would prevail over then-opponent President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Joe Biden<\/a> and return to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/white-house\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>White House<\/a> next year.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Parasailer flies over former President Donald Trump&rsquo;s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Friday, Oct. 5, 2024. (Graeme Jennings\/Washington Examiner)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Cliff Pickerd, 58, a maintenance worker from Butler who walked to Saturday&rsquo;s rally, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>&nbsp;he was motivated to come to his first Trump event because of the assassination attempt and because of the former president&rsquo;s new opponent, Vice President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kamala-harris\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Kamala Harris<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The president of the United States, that was the former, wants to fight for our rights,&rdquo; he said regarding why he had to make the effort to come to the event.<\/p>\n<p>Rick and Renee Matassa, 49 and 47, respectively, had to drive from further afield, roughly an hour from Apollo, Pennsylvania. But the couple were also first-time Trump rally-goers before November&rsquo;s election.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is history in the making,&rdquo; Renee, a retail manager, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s really just the exposure that he gives people that shouldn&rsquo;t be in power. That&rsquo;s why they&rsquo;re trying to take him out.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Her husband, an equipment mechanic, noted that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Republican\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Republican<\/a> voter registration has increased in Pennsylvania, a more data-driven indication of enthusiasm for Trump compared to crowd size estimations and counting yard signs.<\/p>\n<p>Republican strategist Christopher Nicholas agreed, arguing the late surge in registration could result in inaccurate polls of Pennsylvania because pollsters do not have the new registrants&rsquo;s contact information. <\/p>\n<p>Trump and Harris are currently tied in Pennsylvania, 48% support apiece, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/polls\/president\/general\/2024\/pennsylvania\/trump-vs-harris\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><em>RealClearPolitics<\/em><\/a>&lsquo;s averages of head-to-head polling.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Voter registration statistics in Pennsylvania in the last year especially have really accelerated gains for the GOP,&rdquo; Nicholas told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not unusual to get a lot more voters here. They&rsquo;re just trending noticeably more Republican than Democrat.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>According to the Pennsylvania state government, Democrats do maintain their voter registration edge, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pa.gov\/en\/agencies\/dos\/resources\/voting-and-elections-resources\/voting-and-election-statistics.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>3,941,347 to Republicans&rsquo; 3,608,032<\/a>, but the GOP is closing the gap.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In a state that&nbsp;has a narrow trading range between what happened in 2016 and what happened in 2020, something like that could make a difference,&rdquo; Nicholas said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re going to have 7 million voters vote,&nbsp;six and a half million or whatever. Trump won by 44,000 in 2016, and then Biden came back winning by 80,000 in 2020. Very small things could tilt the race one way or the other.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>While Pickerd and the Matassas are Pennsylvanian, Joyce Stizza, 71, traveled to Butler from over the border in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ohio\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Ohio<\/a> because she hoped to support Trump to &ldquo;turn this country around.&rdquo; Similar to other rallygoers&nbsp;the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> interviewed, Stizza&rsquo;s most important issues are the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/economy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>economy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/immigration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>immigration<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Immigration and the economy, the economy is in bad shape,&rdquo; the Youngstown, Ohio, nurse said. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t keep giving money away.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But regardless of the enthusiastic atmosphere, Butler, the Western Pennsylvania town of 13,502 near Pittsburgh, has changed during the three months since Trump&rsquo;s first assassination attempt<\/p>\n<p>Dan Gray, 64, who was at the first rally, contrasted that event&rsquo;s security to that that was apparent on Saturday, noting there was &ldquo;more security.&rdquo; Counter-snipers were in plain sight on many of the nearby roofs, and security personnel in camouflage gear patrolled the parameter in buggies.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;After the shooting started and everybody yelled &lsquo;down,&rsquo; everybody went down,&rdquo; the Punxsutawney <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/coal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>coal miner<\/a> told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;Then, after the shooting stopped, they said &lsquo;everybody out,&rsquo; and there was no mad rush.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Jeff James, 61, an HVAC installation company owner from Cabot, knew Comperatore and said recalling him as a man still causes him to &ldquo;break down and cry,&rdquo; declining to comment further.<\/p>\n<p>James&rsquo;s friend Dino DiGiacobbe, 60, praised Trump for coming back to Butler because &ldquo;this is a great community.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It says a lot just for him to come back here after he almost lost his life,&rdquo; the Sarver retired police officer told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On July 13, Trump emerged from the immediate confusion with a bloodied face after Crooks grazed the former president&rsquo;s ear with his bullet. Before <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/secret-service\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Secret Service<\/a> agents rushed Trump from the stage to safety, the former president had the presence of mind to raise his fist and shout, &ldquo;Fight, fight, fight!&rdquo; He was next seen in public during the Republican National Convention, with supporters copying his ear bandage. He told attendees he was saved by turning his head toward a chart detailing illegal immigration figures when Crooks pulled his trigger.<\/p>\n<p>Then-Secret Service Director&nbsp;Kimberly Cheatle was pressured into resigning in July over the Butler assassination attempt. Congress passed legislation last week to fund the federal government until Dec. 20, which included $231 million in additional money for the Secret Service, as an independent investigation is ongoing into that incident and a second assassination attempt against Trump last month in Florida.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1776978\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1776978\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thousands gather in Butler for Donald Trump&#8217;s triumphant return<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2652,"featured_media":2351174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Trump-rally-Butler.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[14071,4433,5309,3634,32076],"class_list":["post-2351173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-butler","tag-rally","tag-return","tag-trump","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Trump-rally-Butler.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2351173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2652"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2351173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2351173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2351174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2351173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2351173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2351173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}