(AFP) – “If somebody was to shoot at Trump, I’d be the first to jump up and try to get in the line of fire to save his life,” said Donald Owen, 71. The retiree, headed to Donald Trump’s first campaign event since an apparent assassination attempt over the weekend, was among several devotees who said they feared further attempts on the ex-president’s life. Trump’s life “is more important than mine is,” said Owen, a former automobile worker from swing state Michigan, where the 78-year-old candidate is hosting a town hall event Tuesday evening in the city of Flint.
Wearing a t-shirt of Trump with his fist raised and ear bloodied — a now-iconic image from a first assassination attempt targeting the ex-president in July — Owen held Democrats responsible for the assassination scares. “I believe that they want to kill Trump so that Trump cannot try to make his second term in office,” Owen said. Trump has blamed the “rhetoric” of President Joe Biden and Democrat election rival Kamala Harris after an apparent assassination attempt was foiled Sunday near his golf course in Florida.
– ‘God has his back’ –
“They’re doing everything they can to stop him because they know he’s going to win,” said John Russell, another voter heading to the venue on Tuesday. But the 53-year-old, wearing a cowboy hat and a Trump-branded shirt, was still confident the Republican would stay the course. “God has got his back,” he claimed.
The town hall in Michigan — one of seven key battleground states likely to decide November’s election — is Russell’s 25th Trump event. Getting ready for her first was Rachelle Cooper, 42, who has supported Trump since his surprise 2016 win. “He’s here for the people,” Cooper said. “We need the gas, we need the groceries, we need all of that to go down in price.”
Asked if she was apprehensive about her safety at a Trump event, she said: “I’m not scared. Security is here to watch over us and I feel protected.”
– ‘Too much hate’ –
Independent voter Todd Faulkner said he was also unfazed by security concerns — but added that both sides need to “calm down.” “We’re seeing too much hate right now,” said Faulkner, 53, who conceded that Trump was also contributing to the political tension. “I don’t like everything he says,” Faulkner told AFP over chants of “Fight! Fight! Fight!” from the event crowd — a reference to Trump’s remarks after the first assassination attempt.
But that won’t stop Faulkner from voting for the former president in November. “After two attempts in 60 days, he’s still standing. You’ve got to give the guy a lot of credit,” he said.
© 2024 AFP
