Voters in Pennsylvania, a key swing state, describe how the assassination attempt affected attitudes about the former president.
BUTLER, Pa.—For people like Brad Jones, 55, and his wife, Donna Jones, a gunman’s attempt to kill former President Donald Trump became more than an indelible memory.
Attending their first Trump rally, the couple was sitting within 50 feet of the stage in Butler Township, Pennsylvania, on July 13 when Trump suffered a gunshot to his right ear and narrowly escaped death.
Trump’s fist-pumping “Fight! Fight! Fight!” reaction to the shooting underscored their belief that they are supporting the right candidate for president, the Joneses say.
His survival reaffirmed their belief in miracles. And this one, they say, is wrapped in a cloak of red, white, and blue.
“July 13th is something true patriotic Americans will choose to never forget,” Brad Jones told The Epoch Times. “July 13th will forever be hope, revived by a miracle of God’s grace.”
Two months have passed since a gunman opened fire at the rally, killing spectator Corey Comparetore, 50, and wounding three people, including Trump.
Officers returned fire, killing the suspected gunman. Various investigations are continuing into his motives and officers’ security failures, as voters weigh their options for the Nov. 5 election.
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, is running against the Democrats’ last-minute replacement for President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Joneses, retired educators who live in the Butler area, say the incident may have changed some hearts and minds about the former president.
It also may have swayed some votes; that’s the sense Donna Jones had gotten as of Sept. 3, after talking to Democrats who previously had no intention of voting for Trump.
“I think part of it is they can’t believe that someone would have that much hatred to try to assassinate him, and I think they see that person as someone that was like-minded with their way of thinking,” she said. “And so I think it’s made them realize that maybe things have gone too far.”
Polling conducted after the shooting but before Biden dropped out showed that the shooting made 27 percent of voters more inclined to vote Republican. Nineteen percent said the incident pushed them toward voting Democrat. More than half of voters in that Forbes/HarrisX poll said the shooting would not affect their vote.
Among roughly 2,000 registered voters in that survey, 24 percent blamed “a deranged gunman” for the shooting. But almost as large a share—23 percent—blamed “Trump and his own rhetoric” for the shooting; 13 percent blamed the rhetoric of Biden and the Democratic Party.
During a series of interviews in Butler and other parts of Pennsylvania, The Epoch Times asked voters how the attempted assassination affected them. Their views run the gamut.
More Outspoken Now
Chiedu Chika, a 22-year-old Maryland man, traveled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to hear Trump talk at a town hall session on Sept. 4. Wearing a patriotic headscarf, shirt, and shorts, Chika decided to be more up-front about his support for the former president because “he took a bullet for the country,” he said.
“So that’s the least I can do,” he said.
Chika, who is black, said it bothers him when people assume that his ethnicity would compel him to vote for Harris. In his conversations with Harris supporters, some have said they support her solely because of her race or because they “want to see a woman in office,” Chika said.
But voting decisions should be based on qualities beyond race and gender, he said.
“We need a strong leader,” he said, adding that he thinks Trump has repeatedly exuded that characteristic and spontaneously demonstrated leadership in the way he reacted after he was shot.
Such a response reflects a person’s true character, Chika said.
“You cannot teach [someone to do] that,” he said, adding that the way Trump reacted may have helped convince some people that he is seeking the presidency for the right reasons.
Opposing Views in ‘Trump Country’
At the opposite end of the voter spectrum is Rebecca Wojtyszka, 56, a Harris supporter who lives in Butler.
She said discussion of the assassination attempt matters “big time” to most people in Butler but not to her.
“I’m really sick of hearing about it,“ Wojtyskza said during a Sept. 6 interview, adding that her opinion is “in the minority” because “this is Trump country up here.”
In Butler County, Republicans outnumbered Democrats by almost two to one in the 2020 presidential election, Pennsylvania voter records show. That year, Trump carried that county in western Pennsylvania by 33 percentage points, although Biden was declared the winner of both Pennsylvania and the national election.
Wojtyszka said she is voting Democrat based partly on the issue of abortion, which Trump has said should be left to states to decide.
“I think it’s my decision to choose what I can do with my body,” she said, adding that the government should back off.
She also cares about climate-related issues, she said, noting that Trump opposes the Biden administration’s policies on “green” energy and all-electric vehicles.
Trump Voters Remain Committed
Kristy Nutt, 41, of Butler, said she hopes the 2024 election will result in “growth and prosperity and the health of the country overall.”
The assassination attempt didn’t affect her voting decision, she said.
“I’m going to vote Republican … because that’s more in line with my goals and values,” she said.
She described herself as a Christian who is “more aligned with conservative policies, not specifically Trump, but just the Republican Party’s policies.” She cited the party’s emphasis on “family values” and “small government.”
Mikki Breitmos, a former Democrat from the Pittsburgh area, moved to Butler and switched to Republican 18 years ago.
“People I know that were going to vote for Trump are going to vote Trump again regardless” of the shooting, she said, adding that most of her relatives and friends are Trump voters. One relative, she said, refuses to vote and isn’t registered to do so.
Asked why she supports Trump, Breitmos said: “I just think he’s the best candidate. … I think that he is more of a businessman than a politician, and that’s why I voted for him the last time. And I think our government needs to be run as a business.”
Although she strongly supports Trump, Breitmos said she wishes he would tone down his rhetoric, saying, “I think he needs his rough edges smoothed out.”
Trump Inspired Non-Voter to Cast Ballot
Butler resident Michael Nicolazzo, now 92 years old, attended the Butler rally and witnessed the attempted assassination. He said Trump inspired him to cast his first-ever ballot in 2016.
“I never voted for anybody until Trump came along,” he said, adding that he will vote for him again this year.
“I like him a lot better than Biden or Kamala,” he said, pointing out that he holds their policies responsible for increasing the prices of gasoline and many other necessities.
In advance of the Butler rally, Nicolazzo secured a VIP ticket from a local business, putting him close to the stage. That’s where he was when the shots rang out, he said.
A decorated Korean War veteran who displayed proof of his service medals to The Epoch Times, Nicolazzo said he initially thought, “Maybe somebody behind me [is] playing with firecrackers.” But then he heard something go past his head, he said.
“It sounded like a damn bullet,” he said, adding that he was in disbelief until he saw people bleeding, including Trump.
Nicolazzo said it bothered him that, just days before the shooting, Biden had stated that it was “time to put Trump in a bullseye.”
“’Bullseye’ means you want somebody to shoot him, right?” Nicolazzo said.
Biden later told NBC News that it was a mistake for him to make the “bullseye” remark, which was made on a call with donors.
Nicolazzo said he’s having trouble with his pension. He says it’s being blocked, adding to his resentment over the Biden administration allowing illegal immigrants into America, where they get free food, shelter, and other benefits.
“I was going to tell Trump, ‘Do you think I should go down and come across the Mexican border, and maybe they’ll give me a check, give me a food card and all this?’” Nicolazzo said.
Coverage Faded, Concerns Haven’t
Amid the political upheaval caused by Biden’s exit from the race, coverage of the assassination attempt largely faded from headlines. Some Trump supporters told The Epoch Times that mainstream media seem to be trying to “sweep it under the rug” and forget about it.
But the incident gnaws at many people, including Brad Jones, the retired educator who attended the Butler Rally with his wife, Donna.
“I don’t think anyone is moving past it or trying to avoid talking about it. People want answers,” he told The Epoch Times on Sept. 10.
Several agencies are looking into the assassination attempt, along with a bipartisan congressional task force headed by Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), who was present during the shooting.
The group aims to complete interviews of local and federal agency employees by the end of September, its website says.
Jones thinks federal authorities have been too tight-lipped. The dearth of information creates fertile ground for conspiracy theories to take root, he said, fearing that the attempted assassination might be debated for decades.
In the meantime, the Joneses continue to process the aftermath of the shooting.
“It changed us forever,” Jones said, recounting the events of July 13.
The Joneses parked their vehicle at the Butler Farm Show grounds at 8:15 a.m., almost nine hours before Trump was scheduled to speak there.
Their early arrival allowed the couple to secure seats near the stage.
“But if we had gone up any closer, we would have been in line with the bullets that hit the two guys who were injured,” Jones said.
“We love Trump; we love our country. We just wanted to go to something positive.”
Still, he said, a sense of foreboding had plagued him and his wife throughout the sweltering day.
“It just felt like something was off,” he said.
It seemed ominous, he said, even before the shooting, to hear pre-rally music that included Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” which includes lyrics about President John F. Kennedy being “blown away.” It also was strange that the huge American flag hanging above the stage became twisted into an angel-like formation a couple of hours before the shooting, he said.
The Joneses said they felt a kinship with other Trump supporters at the rally; the Secret Service has estimated that 15,000 people attended.
When Trump’s motorcade arrived, “Like everybody else, we stood on our chairs, just to get a glimpse of him … when the motorcade came in … we were high-fivin’ because ‘the boss’ was in the house….everybody from the overflow was pushing down the aisles, trying to get close,” he said.
“And it was an amazing feeling; it was electric,” he said.
Patriotism Ignited
The excitement turned to terror and uncertainty when Trump was shot, Jones said. The crowd sat silent until Trump rose to his feet. The crowd then burst into cheers, he said.
“It was like watching the ‘Rocky’ movie and the ‘80 Olympics when we beat the Russians [in hockey], all in one,” Jones said.
“[For a split second], we were seeing this dark world without him … we didn’t like it … and we were so thankful that he was able to stand up. It was an inspirational thing to be able to see that. I know God had his hand on him.
“If you have a heart and you have a soul, and you know what’s right and what’s good, you saw a warrior standing up there that fights for you and for me and for this country. It ignited this patriotic feeling in all of us that I have never felt in my life.”
As a result of the shooting, the Joneses are now more aware of surroundings, Jones said, but they don’t live in fear. They also believe more strongly that God has a plan for Trump and for America, he said.
“People think that we’re in a cult,” but that’s an inaccurate, unfair characterization, Jones said. He worships God, and believes God has “called” Trump to help the nation, he said.
Marveling at the fact that Trump avoided a direct hit by turning his head at the precise moment that the bullet hurtled toward him, Jones said: “When you witness a miracle like that, it changes you.”
‘Attack on All of Our Rights’
Butler Mayor Bob Dandoy, whose city is separate from Butler Township, where the shooting occurred, has become a de facto spokesman for the community. As such, he has talked to at least a couple hundred Butler-area residents. He also has spoken to dozens of news reporters from as far away as Melbourne, Australia.
During those conversations, some citizens were “angry that ‘we’ allowed this to happen,” Dandoy said. But because the rally happened outside its boundaries, the city of Butler played no role in planning or staging the event, he said.
“We had four officers on-site, and they weren’t in the middle of it anywhere,” Dandoy said.
He has heard it all. Some people insisted the shooting was faked, he said, and others theorized that government actors conspired to orchestrate the assassination attempt.
In a Sept. 12 interview with The Epoch Times, Dandoy said he senses people in the Butler area are trying to return to normalcy.
Among most people he talks to, “there’s a fatigue about having to defend things that happened around here,” Dandoy said.
Dandoy said some Democrats and Republicans have told him they are reluctant to see Trump—and the spotlight—return to Butler. The former president has said he intends to come back sometime in October and finish the rally that he started while honoring the shooting victims. The Joneses said they plan to attend if possible.
A Democrat, Dandoy says he’s voting for Harris. But he said that the assassination attempt needs to be further probed.
“Republican, Democrat, it doesn’t matter. The people who were at the rally were there exercising basic fundamental principles of this nation—the right to congregate, to assemble; the right to free speech. These are all things that are fundamental rights of our nation. That shooting was an attack on those rights, and therefore it is an attack on all of our rights,” he said.
“And so, even though we may differ—and there may be a divide between Republicans and Democrats, the people who were there and not there—it still impacts our freedoms. And I think that’s why it’s important, and why it deserves our attention and contemplation.”