Former President Donald Trump speaks during his rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds on Saturday, Oct. 5. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle

CONNOQUENESSING — The day began with prayer at what was seemingly the mecca of rallies for former President Donald Trump.

But between calls for unity and healing at the Butler Farm Show grounds on Saturday, Oct. 5, and a show of resilience among the thousands of rallygoers and speakers pumping their fists, were claims that the Democratic Party was responsible for the assassination attempt against the former president in July that left one person, Corey Comperatore, dead, and two others, David Dutch and James Copenhaver, injured.

As speakers, including Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, pulled from scripture to show how divine intervention had played a role in the thwarted assassination attempt, they said that voting for Trump was vital to saving the nation, and to coming together.

“They tried to smear us. They tried to bankrupt us. They came after us,” the former president’s son, Eric Trump, said on stage with his wife and Republican National Committee co-chairwoman, Lara. “They impeached him twice. They went after his Supreme Court justices. They weaponized the entire legal system — a Russia hoax, the dirty dossiers.”

Attendees wear their regalia during former President Donald Trump’s rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds on Saturday, Oct. 5. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle

“Far left (attorneys general), far left (district attorneys) in every far left place in this country went after my father,” Eric Trump said. “They tried to pull him off the ballot in Colorado, they tried to pull him off the ballot in Maine, and it has not worked.”

“Then guys, they tried to kill him,” he said. “They tried to kill him, and it’s because the Democratic Party, they can’t do anything right. They can’t do anything right.”

“This isn’t politics — this is a movement of absolute love of hundreds of millions of people who want to save the United States,” he later said on stage.

Lara Trump speaks alongside Eric Trump during former President Donald Trump’s rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds on Saturday, Oct. 5. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle

Lara Trump also touched on religious themes that her father-in-law was saved for a higher purpose.

She said the 2024 presidential election isn’t about Democrats or Republicans, but good versus evil, and that “good is going to win this battle.”

“(God) spared Donald Trump’s life because he was not finished with Donald Trump, and he did it not once, but twice,” she said, referencing the second attempt on his life in September. “And I’ve said it time and time again, but now you feel it more than ever. Donald Trump was made for such a time as this.”

Vance claimed that the Democratic Party, in particular Vice President Kamala Harris, incited the violence in which a 20-year-old gunman opened fire at the July 13 rally in Connoquenessing Township.

“Just look at everything they’ve done to President Trump,” he said. “First, they try to silence him. That didn’t work. They tried to bankrupt him, but that didn’t work. They tried to jail him, and with all the hatred they have spewed at President Trump, it was only a matter of time before somebody tried to kill him, and that’s exactly what happened, not just here in Butler, Pennsylvania, but … (three weeks ago) in Florida.”

U.S. Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, running mate of former President Donald Trump, is welcomed with cheers from the crowd during the return rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds Saturday, Oct. 5. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle

He also called attention to Trump’s reaction during the shooting in July. As blood streaked his face, Trump raised his fist in the air, mouthing, “Fight.”

At certain points during the rally, the crowd would break out in a chant, pumping their fists similarly to Trump on July 13: “Fight. Fight. Fight.”

“ … In the past eight years, those who want to stop us have slandered me, impeached me, indicted me, tried to throw me off the ballot, and who knows — maybe even tried to kill me,” Trump said.

Those remarks, along with the hourlong remainder of Trump’s speech, which skipped between comments on mass deportations, gender reassignment surgery and strengthening the economy, contrasted with earlier messages of healing.

At the beginning of the rally, Dr. James Sweetland, a retired physician who rendered aid to Comperatore after he was shot on July 13, called on the crowd to “turn down the temperature.”

“An assassin’s bullet should not decide our election,” Sweetland said. “I want for you and I to speak about our differences in a civil, respectful manner.”

Butler County Commissioners Kim Geyer, left, and Leslie Osche take the stage during former President Donald Trump's rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds on Saturday, Oct. 5. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle

Butler County Commissioners Kim Geyer and Leslie Osche, along with Sam Zurzolo and Ed Natali, who serve on the Butler Township board of commissioners, and Slippery Rock Mayor Jondavid Longo, also used the event to remember Comperatore, whom Trump commended as a devoted father and husband.

They also touched on the impact of the shooting on Butler County, and how they hope the community can be redefined after tragedy.

Natali called Butler “the capital of Trump country.”

Butler County Commissioner Kim Geyer speaks during former President Donald Trump's rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds on Saturday, Oct. 5. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle

“We bleed red, white and blue,” Geyer said.

“What happened that awful day will forever shape the trajectory of our future,” she said. “We learned a lot about the evil we face. We learned a lot about gutsy leadership, and I believe that many of us learned a lot about ourselves in the face of heartbreaking loss, remarkable heroism and personal resolve to stand up, stay calm and fight, fight, fight for our country.”

“We are excited to show you our hearts, our love for country and our fearless spirit that will help carry President Trump and Sen. JD Vance to victory,” she said. “No longer will Butler County be remembered by an assassin’s bullet. Instead, we will solidify our legacy in history as the little town with a big heart that is working to heal, that is unified in purpose and is motivated to save this country.”