Thousands come to Grand Rapids for the first Trump rally since the assassination

Thousands of Donald Trump supporters filled an arena in downtown Grand Rapids for the former president’s first public campaign rally since a failed assassination attempt on a rally last weekend in Pennsylvania.

It was also the first rally since Trump announced his vice presidential candidate, Ohio Senator JD Vance.

“To my brothers in Ohio, we have to win Michigan, that’s the most important thing in this election cycle,” Vance told the crowd in Grand Rapids.

Attendees began lining up long before Trump’s scheduled 5 p.m. speech, with lines stretching for several blocks as several downtown streets were closed.

The Van Andel Arena, where the rally was held, has an official capacity of more than 12,000 spectators. Trump supporters filled the seats in the upper tier and also the floor of the arena, where folding chairs were set up.

“I’m thrilled to be back in the great state of Michigan with thousands and thousands, and I mean thousands here,” Trump said shortly after taking the stage. “This is an amazing arena.”

In the immediate aftermath of Trump’s assassination, calls were made to tone down the rhetoric and focus on unity across the political spectrum. But in Grand Rapids, Trump sounded his usual self, repeatedly calling President Biden “stupid” and saying the country will suffer if he doesn’t win in November.

“And if we can do it, our country will be great again, and if we can’t do it, our country is finished,” Trump said of the election. “You know it. I know it, and everybody knows it.”

Trump promised he would help rebuild the U.S. auto industry by imposing high tariffs on vehicles built outside the United States.

At one point, he called a man onto the stage wearing a T-shirt that read “Autoworkers for Trump 2024.”

“I like this guy. He’s a serious union man,” Trump said.

“Nice to see you,” said the man, who later said his name was Brian Pennebecker.

Pennebecker said he recently retired from a Ford plant.

Federal data show that the number of manufacturing jobs in Michigan remained largely unchanged during Trump’s four years in office after years of growth during Obama’s presidency. The state’s total number of manufacturing jobs remains well below levels seen in the early 2000s.

Also at the rally, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Sandy Pensler announced that he was ending his campaign for Michigan’s Senate seat. He announced that he would support Mike Rogers, a Republican Senate candidate whom Trump also supports.