Trump holds first outdoor rally since assassination attempt

Former President Trump on Wednesday held his first outdoor campaign event since he was grazed by a bullet in an assassination attempt, standing behind bulletproof glass as he addressed supporters in North Carolina.

The former president and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), spoke in Asheboro, as part of a weeklong swing through battleground states to counter the Democratic convention.

The Trump campaign declined to comment on specific added security measures.

The stage was flanked by panes of bulletproof glass. Storage containers were stacked up near the stage to block lines of sight from a distance.

At one point, Trump wandered off the stage to check on an attendee in the stands who had a medical issue.

Wednesday’s event was billed as focused on national security, but like Trump’s other policy-focused events this week, he delivered at-times-meandering remarks in which he complained about the revision of jobs numbers and attacked President Biden and the Obamas over their convention speeches.

He did forcefully attack Biden and Vice President Harris over the disastrous withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in 2021, during which 13 American soldiers were killed.

Trump said he would ask for the resignations of “every single senior military official who touched the Afghanistan disaster.”

And he repeated his assertion that he could single-handedly end raging conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

“Starting the moment I lift my hand from the Bible after taking the oath of office, I will move to restore America to maximum strength and return the world to peace,” Trump said. “We’re going to return the world to peace. And mostly I can do it with a telephone call.”

It was the first time Trump held an outdoor rally since July 13, when he was hit in the ear by a bullet while speaking at an event in Butler, Pa. The assassin and one rally attendee were killed, and Trump wore a bandage over his ear for weeks after the shooting as it healed.

Lawmakers have set up a bipartisan task force to probe the security lapses around the assassination attempt.

Trump has said he intends to return to Butler for another rally.