Illegal immigration remains a topic of focus at RNC
Six minutes before a bullet whizzed past his head, piercing his right ear, former President Donald Trump took the stage at the Butler Farm Show grounds July 13 to talk about illegal immigration.
He echoed the rhetoric of the speakers before him, including GOP nominee for state Senate David McCormick, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, and Sean Parnell, calling for deportations and “taking our country back.”
“We’re going to take back the White House and we are going to take back our country,” Trump said at the rally.
“We’re going to take it back ... our country’s been stolen from us.”
About a minute later, Trump switched gears, referring to a chart projected on giant screens that he said showed illegal immigration had risen under President Joe Biden’s administration.
“That chart’s a couple of months old and if you want to really see something that’s sad, take a look at what happened —”
Trump did not finish the sentence as the first gunshot rang out. Around the third shot, screams could be heard from the grassy field.
Though Trump was interrupted at the rally, which ended in evacuations, the focus on illegal immigration would resound through the Republican National Convention days later, becoming central to politicians’ speeches. Captured footage from Thursday shows audience members holding signs reading “Mass Deportations Now” and “Peace through Strength.”
“At the heart of the Republican platform is our pledge to end this border nightmare and fully restore the sacred and sovereign borders of the United States of America,” Trump said in his acceptance speech as presidential nominee for the Republican Party. “We’re going to do that on day one.”
“That means two things (on) day one, right?” he said. “Drill, baby, drill, and close our borders.”
The chart Trump had turned to just as the bullet struck his ear July 13 appeared again on the screen behind him as he spoke Thursday. He credited it to saving his life at the rally in Butler County.
“The amazing thing is that prior to the shot, if I had not moved in my head at that very last instance, the assassin's bullet would have perfectly hit its mark,” Trump said.
The gunman, 20-year-old Bethel Park resident Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot dead by law enforcement Saturday after he injured Trump and two others, and killed Corey Comperatore, 50, of Buffalo Township, who died shielding his wife and daughter.
Before the shooting, some rallygoers who had traveled to the Butler Farm Show on July 13 in support of Trump had shared that the former president’s focus on illegal immigration was one reason they planned to vote for him in November.
Nancy Riley, 92, of Pittsburgh, said that before voting Republican, she had been a Democrat for 80 years. Riley added that border security was a priority for her as a voter.
“Millions of people come in and we don’t know who they are,” Riley said. “Terrorists or what. And (Biden) still keeps the border open.”
“I want (the country) the way it was before,” Riley said.
“If you came here illegally, get the hell out,” said Dan Trombatt of Center Township.
“It puts the strain on every working American,” Trombatt said. “We have enough of our own that don’t contribute — we don’t need more people.”
Before the rally began, Tom Gleason, a veteran and registered Republican from Bethel Park, carried a placard noting he was a West Point graduate and member of Veterans for Responsible Leadership who believed Trump would be unfit for office.
He said his purpose in attending the rally was to share his point of view with others and spark “civil conversation” with other rallygoers.
“(Trump) has said he would like to use the military to help round up illegal immigrants,” Gleason said. “That is not the purpose of the military. There are laws against using the military for law enforcement.”
