A Day We Will Never Forget
July 13, 2024, was a day none of us will ever forget.
On that day, at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, what many of us had been expecting for years finally happened: They tried to assassinate Donald Trump. In a brazen assault carried out under the incredulous gaze of countless rally attendees and stupefied law-enforcement officials, an unknown 20-year-old, Thomas Matthew Crooks from nearby Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, climbed atop a nearby roof carrying an AR-15-style rifle. Frantic attempts to alert authorities went unheeded as Crooks crawled into position on the roof over the next several minutes and took careful aim at Trump, who was standing behind an unprotected podium a little over 400 feet away. Even when the would-be assassin began firing, it took several seconds to dawn on everyone, including Trump, what was happening. In what will live forever in the canon of unforgettable live news events, millions of aghast viewers saw Trump clutch at his ear as shots rang out and duck out of sight behind the podium, to be dogpiled seconds later by Secret Service agents. Behind him on the stands, chaos reigned; one man, a local fireman named Corey Comperatore, lay dead, killed as he shielded family members from incoming fire.
After more anxious moments, while the world watched the now-empty podium, Trump suddenly got to his feet, blood streaming across his face, surrounded by Secret Service agents. Before being hustled off to a waiting vehicle, he raised his fist defiantly, exhorting the crowd to fight on. A roar of approval and relief erupted from the crowd, and Trump was escorted away to deafening cries of “U-S-A! U-S-A!”
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