Donald Trumpheld his first campaign rally on Saturday since he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt one week ago, mocking Democrats and comparing former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to a “dog.”
After briefly calling for national unity earlier this week, Trump has since returned to his usual campaign tactics — using insulting and sometimes offensive language to attack his opponents, and repeating a string of false claims about immigration, the economy and election fraud, major elements of his speech on Saturday.
Biden has faced calls from some senior Democrats to end his re-election bid after his poor debate performance last month raised concerns over whether he could beat Trump or complete another four-year term.
Many Democrats fear Biden may not have a realistic path to victory and that the party needs a new candidate to take on Trump.
Trump attacked Democrats, saying they wanted to kick Biden off the ticket after he won their presidential nominating contest.
“They have a couple of problems. No. 1, they have no idea who their candidate is,” Trump said to laughter and jeers. “This guy goes and he gets the votes and now they want to take it away.”
Referring to Pelosi, Trump said: “She’s turned on him like a dog. She’s as crazy as a bed bug.”
Pelosi’s office did not immediately return a request for comment.
Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesman, when asked for a comment on Trump’s “dog” remark, wrote: “Hahahahahahaha.”
Trump referred to the assassination attempt several times on Saturday. “I hope I don’t have to go through that again. It was so horrible,” Trump said.
Opinion polls show a tight race between Trump and Biden at a national level but Biden trailing in the battleground states that will likely determine the winner.
The rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last weekend was outdoors. At that event, the gunman was able to scale the roof of a building outside the Secret Service perimeter before opening fire on Trump, clipping his ear, killing a rally-goer and wounding several others.
The Secret Service, which is responsible for protecting Trump, declined to comment on security for the Grand Rapids event. An investigation is under way into the security failures at the Butler rally.