Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
BUTLER, Pa. — Everyone in this town remembers where they were, and what they were doing, the moment Trump was shot. Liza Cannon was bartending at the American Legion when it came up on the TVs, where "shock" and "silence" filled the room. Ducky Scherer was at the rally, and by his account, he jumped on his feet "like a groundhog" to try and see where the shots came from. Tracey Baker, meanwhile, did just the opposite: she fell to the ground and began crying.
"I couldn't believe what I was feeling," she recounted Friday, becoming emotional. "It broke my heart. I cried for my country, and I knew Trump was the only one who could save it."
Less than three months have passed since former President Donald Trump was nearly assassinated at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and since one man was killed and two others seriously injured. Here, in this sleepy town 40 miles north of Pittsburgh, the memory is still fresh.
On Saturday, Trump will make his first visit back to Butler for what he promises will be a "big and beautiful rally" with several guests, including the family of Corey Comperatore, the attendee killed during the July 13 shooting; Trump's son Eric and daughter-in-law Lara; Elon Musk, the SpaceX CEO; and Sen. JD Vance, the Republican nominee for vice president.
On Friday evening, the night before Trump's return, a group of Trump supporters met behind an ice cream shop for a "prayer gathering" to pray for the former president and for Butler.
No one knew who organized the gathering, only that an anonymous flier had circulated on social media encouraging devotees to "come together and pray for the protection and safety" over the rally and over Trump. About a dozen individuals arrived, and when no pastor showed up, Leonard Vardetto III, visiting from nearby Allegheny County, suggested they get started.
"I know the Lord is the one that can save us and get us back in the right direction," he said, "so that's why we're all here — to pray to Him so we can have a hedge of protection for tomorrow's event, so nothing will happen like we had."
Someone suggested they begin with the Lord's Prayer; they held hands and recited it. A woman stepped forward and read a prayer she prepared, asking that God "cover our homes and this area, (and) protect and shield us." Someone suggested they recite the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, which Trump recently posted on social media. A man offered a prayer asking God to guide the next president. "Whoever is president, whoever is leader of this nation, and all the leaders of our nation, you are the one sitting on the throne, for you have control, you have power," he said.
Before long, the prayers subsided and the topic turned to Trump. A portion of the group crossed the street, where two dozen rallygoers were preparing to camp overnight. There, they held hands in a circle and Vardetto invited anyone to step forward and share "encouraging words" or "testimony." A middle-aged man spoke up. "Something that's been impressed on my heart the last couple of years is going back to Donald Trump's inauguration speech in 2017," he said. "He said, 'We will be protected by God.'" The group responded with amens. "I think that has been so true, evidenced by what happened here," he continued.
Lovan Nguyen, an immigrant from Vietnam, said he escaped Communism and is scared the U.S. "is headed in a direction that we do not want." Trump, he said, "is the only man that's able to save this country." The group clapped.
Perhaps the country is already being saved, though, a woman suggested. "I was here on July 13," she said. "He was shot at 6:11 (p.m. ET)," she said, then recited Ephesians 6:11, Paul's admonition to "put on the whole armor of God." What these people on Friday were doing, she suggested, fit with that scriptural mandate. "This is unity," she said. "This is called bringing back unity to our country."
A man, holding a giant flag screen-printed with Trump's mugshot, raised his hand. "This movement is a true testament as to why we all come together," he said, the group holding hands around him. "Donald Trump has created that type of friendship and that bonding that he has brought to our country." The man began to get emotional, recounting his memory of July 13: he was leaving the grocery store and had the rally live-streaming on his phone. "I heard the 'pop, pop, pop, pop,'" he said. "I'm a big guy, and I have emotions too, but I broke down in that parking lot."
But when Trump stood up, he said, he knew "God still has a plan for President Trump." That's why he came to this rally. "We're a family," he said. "I've never, in my life, experienced a movement like this." Someone shouted out a correction: "We're Trump family!" The circle broke so individuals could approach him and give him hugs.
Before the group adjourned, Tracey Baker, a resident of nearby New Castle, suggested they offer one last prayer — this one scraped from social media, a "prayer for Donald Trump." She asked for an "armor of protection" to be placed upon Trump, and for victory "amid this conflict against wicked enterprise."
When she concluded, Zach Scherer, a Butler County native, turned his attention to tomorrow. "We need to be known for where one of the biggest rallies in Trump history occurred, not where Trump got shot," he said.
