Former US President Donald Trump on Tuesday made his first public appearance since the second assassination attempt on Sunday. The crowd gathered chanted “God bless Trump!” and “Fight, fight, fight,” while US Secret Service agents surrounded the stage to protect the Republican presidential candidate.
“It’s been a great experience,” Trump said during an evening meeting in Flint, Michigan, of the events with thousands of supporters. But he also called participating in the presidential election a “dangerous business” akin to auto racing or bull riding. He also added:
Only consequential presidents get shot at.
Earlier in the day, Vice President Kamala Harris kept a low-key tone and didn’t even mention Trump by name in an interview with black journalists, a stark contrast to the former president’s highly controversial speech to the same group.
The two candidates briefly put their differences aside in a phone conversation that Trump called “very, very nice,” though the crowd booed him when he mentioned Harris by name. Trump told his supporters:
It was very, very nice, and we appreciate that.
Earlier in the day, Harris told Trump that “there is no place for political violence in our country.”
Both parties are ramping up campaigning with no changes to Trump’s calendar, despite an apparent assassination attempt at one of his golf courses in Florida that has renewed accusations from Republicans that Democrats’ criticism of Trump inspires violent attacks. Democrats have accused Trump before of making long-standing inflammatory statements during the campaign and supporting the idea of imprisoning or prosecuting his political enemies. After the second apparent attempt, however, Harris began to proceed more cautiously.
Tuesday’s meeting with the National Association of Black Journalists was one of the few extensive interviews Harris has given since replacing President Joe Biden as Democratic Party chief in July. She has repeatedly criticised Trump on issues such as his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and opposition to abortion access, but has sought to call him a former president in other ways while avoiding direct name-calling.
Trump repeated his past threats of retaliation against poll workers, donors and others in an attempt to stoke concerns about the integrity of the upcoming 2024 election.
On Tuesday, he wrote on his social media page:
Those involved in unscrupulous behaviour will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before.
Harris calls for an end to the Gaza war
Kamala Harris called for an end to the war between Israel and Gaza and said Israel should not reoccupy the Palestinian enclave once the nearly year-long conflict is over.
Speaking to the National Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia, she called for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian Hamas, a two-state solution and stability in the Middle East in a way that does not empower Iran. US Vice President Harris said in response to questions from three journalists:
We’ve made ourselves very clear this deal needs to get done in the best interest of everyone in the region.
Israel launched a military offensive on the Gaza Strip on October 7 in response to a Hamas attack on Israeli territory. The fighting has so far killed at least 41,252 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and wounded 95,497.
