A Year Later, Butler Shooting Marks the Defining Moment of Trump’s Political Comeback

TIME

The painting hangs in the Grand Foyer. Basked in technicolor bravado, it depicts the iconic moment when Donald J. Trump, surrounded by Secret Service agents and with blood trickling down his face, pumped his fist in the air after an attempt on his life in Butler, Pa. As the ultimate symbol of Trump’s survival, the image encapsulates the central themes of his return to power: victimhood, strength, defiance.

Transcript

00:00It's hard to believe it's been one year since an assassination attempt against Donald Trump

00:05in Butler, Pennsylvania. Many of us who were there that day remember the sounds of the bullets.

00:12Donald Trump rose to his feet behind a battery of agents and pumped his fist in the air and

00:20memorably chanted, fight, fight, fight. And in the months since, I've spoken to many people

00:26close to the president who say that his near-death experience emboldened him to embark on one of the

00:32most disruptive presidencies in American history. In just six months, he has grabbed power in

00:37unprecedented ways from imposing worldwide tariffs to threatening universities to carrying out an

00:46armed confrontation with Iran to severely degrade its nuclear program. As Steve Bannon, Trump's former

00:52chief strategist told me, the MAGA movement sees this very simply and powerfully. The hand of divine

00:59providence interceded on the plains of Butler. A very common theme you will hear from not only

01:06President Trump, but people close to him, is that he was spared that day in order to carry out his

01:13very aggressive agenda to remake American government. Many people in the MAGA movement and in Trump's

01:21orbit believe that it has become a defining moment, not only in his return to power, but in shaping the

01:28contours of his second term. It's made him more aggressive, Republican Congresswoman Annapolino Luna

01:34of Florida told me. She said it actually did define him in the presidency. Pictures and illustrations of

01:41the scene on July 13th, 2024 have become a staple of the MAGA mythology. Today in the White House, there's a painting

01:50depicting in technicolor defiance that moment for Donald Trump. Just days before the one-year anniversary, the

01:57Secret Service said that it was suspending six agents who were involved in securing the site in Butler, Pennsylvania

02:03last summer. People close to Donald Trump tell me that his attitude has changed since the Butler

02:09shooting. He is less worried about placating or pleasing his opponents, trying to win over critics.

02:16It has only emboldened him.

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