Upbeat Donald Trump returns to stage a week after assassination attempt

A week after suffering an ear injury in an assassination attempt, Donald Trump appeared to be back in shape during a speech alongside his new running mate JD Vance.

Wearing a flesh-colored bandage over his right ear, Trump was in a cheerful mood as he took the stage in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he was greeted by chants of “fight, fight fight” from the crowd.

He noted that the shooting occurred “exactly a week ago” and said, “I stand before you only by the grace of Almighty God. I should not be here now. Something very special has happened.”

He sent his best wishes to the two people injured in the incident and said 50-year-old firefighter Corey Comperatore, a bystander who was killed, “is a hero and we will keep his memory in our hearts.”

Meanwhile, Trump said in an interview that aired Monday night that he was given no indication that police had identified a suspicious person when he took the stage at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last week.

Speaking to Fox News, Trump said, “Nobody mentioned it, nobody said there was a problem” before a gunman opened fire in an attempted assassination.

“They could have said, ‘Let’s wait 15 minutes, 20 minutes, five minutes, something.’ Nobody said that. I think that was a mistake.”

Trump also questioned the security shortcomings, asking how the 20-year-old gunman was able to gain access to the roof of a production building less than 450 feet from the stage.

“How did someone get on that roof? And why wasn’t he reported? Because people saw him on the roof,” Trump said. “You’d think someone would do something about it.”

Local police had seen the man and found him suspicious enough to circulate a photo of him. Witnesses reported seeing him climb the building.

On Saturday night, nearly an hour before Trump took the stage, supporters filled nearly every seat in the 12,000-capacity Van Andel Arena.

Many wore red hats and shirts that read “Make America Great Again” and featured an image of Trump raising his fist in the air after last week’s assassination attempt.

The tension was palpable as people waited, with “USA” slogans being chanted frequently.

This is happening as Republican officials, strategists and activists exude a confidence not seen in decades.

As President Joe Biden faces growing calls from Democrats to resign, Republican officials confidently said the party is more united than ever.