Under tightened security precautions, US presidential candidate Donald Trump will take to an open-air stage on Wednesday for the first time since the attempted assassination on July 13. AFP reporters observed how a glass panel was erected around the podium on which Trump was to speak in the evening (local time). The Secret Service had advised Trump against outdoor appearances after the attack.
During a campaign rally on July 13, Trump narrowly survived an attack when he was hit by a bullet in his right ear. A man in the audience was killed and two other participants in the rally were seriously injured. The suspected perpetrator, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper.
Since then, Trump has appeared at around a dozen indoor events. “We will not give up the outdoor rallies,” he told supporters in Pennsylvania at the end of July. As is customary for security reasons, the Secret Service did not comment on the increased security measures on Wednesday.
Trump and his running mate JD Vance will speak to supporters in the evening (local time) at an open-air aviation museum in North Carolina. The appearance in the swing state, which could be decisive in the election, is seen as a counter-program to the Democratic Party convention, at which Trump’s rival Kamala Harris will formally accept her nomination as presidential candidate on Thursday.
