Grand Rapids, July 21: Donald Trump is holding his first public campaign rally one week after he survived an attempted assassination, returning to the battleground state of Michigan alongside his new running mate. The joint rally with Ohio Sen. JD Vance is the pair's first since they became the GOP's nominees at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Trump kicked off the gathering of Republicans by naming Vance his vice presidential pick, and concluded it with a speech urging unity following a July 13 shooting in Pennsylvania that left Trump with a bloodied ear, killed one man in the crowd and left two others injured.

Hours before he took the stage, Trump's supporters crowded the streets of downtown Grand Rapids in anticipation of the former president's remarks. Supporters began lining up Friday morning, and by Saturday afternoon, the stretched close to a mile from the Van Andel Arena. US Presidential Elections 2024: Nancy Pelosi Privately Tells Joe Biden He Can’t Beat Donald Trump in Presidential Race.

Many were seen wearing shirts featuring the image of Trump, on stage, after he was shot, pumping his fist in the air after surviving the shooting. Mike Gaydos, who travelled from Indiana with his three sons to attend the rally, said he didn't consider himself a “huge” Trump supporter in the past but wanted to show support for the former president following his attempted assassination.

“We can't allow something like that to collar us,” he said. “Bravery is what I thought he showed that day and I want to show my sons about bravery as well.” Numerous streets, closed as an additional security precaution, were dotted with vendors selling food and apparel. Among them was a vendor from North Carolina who said he had spent the night making shirts featuring “Trump Vance '24."

Downtown Grand Rapids also saw a significant police presence, with officers stationed on nearly every block, while others patrolled on horseback and bicycles. “This is the tightest I've ever seen the security,” said Renee White, who said that she's been to 33 of Trump's rallies. “We usually can bring in some small bags but today I had to just leave stuff out there.” Donald Trump Shooting: Joe Biden Speaks to Former US President After Assassination Attempt, Returns to White House.

White was seated behind the podium at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where the gunman opened fire from a nearby rooftop. She described the shooting as “surreal” but said that it wouldn't stop her from going to rallies. “If I'm going to be taken out, at least I'm doing something I love to do, right?” said White. She said she had become emotional when Trump, in his RNC speech to delegates, described the shooting in detail.

“I'm not supposed to be here tonight,” Trump told the packed convention hall. The crowd of thousands, which was listening in silence, shouted back, “Yes, you are.” Michigan is one of the handful of crucial swing states expected to determine the outcome of November's presidential election. Trump narrowly won the state by just over 10,000 votes in 2016, but Democrat Joe Biden flipped it back in 2020, winning by a margin of 154,000 votes on his way to the presidency.

With Vance by his side, Trump will deliver remarks in Grand Rapids, a historically Republican stronghold that has trended increasingly blue in recent elections. Trump's choice of Vance was seen as a move to gain support among so-called Rust Belt voters in places like Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Ohio who helped Trump notch his surprise 2016 victory. Vance specifically mentioned those places during his acceptance speech at the convention, stressing his roots growing up poor in small-town Ohio and pledging not to forget working-class people whose “jobs were sent overseas and children were sent to war.”

Democrats have dominated recent elections in Michigan, but Republicans now see an opening in the state as Democrats are increasingly divided about whether Biden should drop out of the race. Biden has insisted he is not quitting, and has attempted to turn the focus back towards Trump, saying Friday that Trump's acceptance speech at the Republican convention showcased a “dark vision for the future.”

The 81-year-old Democratic incumbent, who appeared in Detroit this month, is currently isolating at his beach home in Delaware recovering from COVID-19. Grand Rapids is the largest city in Kent County, one of three Michigan counties that Trump won in 2016 but Biden flipped in 2020. It's also an area where Republican Nikki Haley secured a substantial number of votes as she ran against Trump in the GOP primary, a group of voters that both presidential campaigns are now hoping to pick up. Haley urged her supporters to back Trump in a convention floor speech.

U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, a Democrat representing Grand Rapids, is among the growing number of lawmakers calling on Biden to exit the race after last month's disastrous debate performance.

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