Trump hosts rally in Michigan — his first since Butler shooting

Donald Trump will hold his first public rally since he was shot in the ear by a gunman while attempting suicide at an event in Pennsylvania last week.

Trump is expected to address a crowd in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Saturday at around 5:00 p.m. EST (10:00 p.m. BST).

It is one of several campaign visits the former president is making to the key election state as polls point to him narrowly outpacing President Joe Biden.

The rally comes shortly after the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Trump formally accepted his party’s presidential nomination and delivered his first public speech since the assassination attempt.

The meeting also marks the first time Trump has appeared on the campaign trail with his vice presidential nominee, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio.

Meanwhile, Biden has had to pause campaign events after testing positive for COVID-19 and continues to resist growing calls from members of his own party to withdraw from the race over concerns about his age and cognitive abilities.

Trump has largely remained silent on the drama that has rocked the Democratic Party. In a speech he gave at the Republican National Convention, he focused on attacks on the Biden administration.

During his hour-and-a-half speech, he discussed the mass deportation of immigrants and concerns about inflation, as well as the July 13 bombing in Butler, Pennsylvania, that nearly killed him.

“I shouldn’t really be here,” he told the crowd, adding, “I had God on my side.”

Trump’s campaign also announced that it plans to hold its next rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, on July 24 at Bojangles Coliseum.

Security at the Grand Rapids rally will be tight after the Butler rally, experts told the BBC.

Investigators have yet to find a motive for the 20-year-old gunman who shot Trump and was later killed by Secret Service agents.

The agency is closely monitoring how the gunman was able to fire from a nearby building after protest participants reported him to police.

Because the Grand Rapids event is indoors, it will be much easier to secure than the Butler gathering, which took place outdoors, former Secret Service agent Jason Russell told the BBC.

Those attending the event will have to walk through metal detectors and military personnel will search the entire building beforehand, Mr Russell said.

Trump will likely not be seen until he actually takes the stage, along with much of his Secret Service personnel.

“There will be a fair number of officers on site,” Mr Russell said.