Standing beside billionaire Elon Musk, President Trump promised that the US will “reach Mars” before the end of his second term, should he be re-elected.
“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” – which 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, and now the owner of the X social media platform, 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, who stepped down and was replaced by Ms Harris as the Democrat pick, Mr Musk 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.
