Donald Trump’s next rally will be in Harrisburg, his first in Pennsylvania since the attempted assassination

Former President Donald Trump will arrive in Harrisburg on Wednesday for his first rally in the state since the assassination attempt on him at a rally in Butler County earlier this month.

The rally will be held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg. Former President followed safety recommendations with the Secret Service to stop organizing outdoor rallies until I decided on the weekend that it will resume outdoor events.

Trump’s speech is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m., with the doors to the intricate scheduled to open four hours earlier, according to the event page.

The Harrisburg rally came less than three weeks after Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle at an outdoor campaign rally in Butler. Trump’s ear was grazed by a bullet, and Corey Comperatore, a former Buffalo Township fire chief, was killed and two other men were wounded.

Nearly two weeks after the shooting, Trump promised to return to Butler for a rally in the near future. He wrote on Truth Social that he wanted to return to Butler for a rally to honor Comperatore and the two people who were injured.

The Trump campaign did not provide any further details about a possible return to Butler.

Trump won’t be able to stay out of Pennsylvania for much longer, as Vice President Kamala Harris — the presumptive Democratic nominee and Trump’s up-to-date opponent since President Joe Biden withdrew from the race — is closing in on the former president in polls in the commonwealth and nationwide.

It will be Trump’s first visit to the key swing state since Biden dropped out of re-election.

Here’s what you need to know before Trump’s rally in Harrisburg.

Why is the event being held indoors and what precautions are being taken?

Earlier last week, sources within Trump’s team he told NBC News that he planned to stop holding outdoor rallies after the Butler shooting and advocated for more indoor rallies, such as the upcoming one in Harrisburg. The sources said the former president could still attend smaller outdoor events or larger rallies where entry is more controlled and there are no hills nearby.

Then on Saturday, Trump fully backed the resumption of his outdoor events, writing in an all-caps message on Truth Social that “The Secret Service has agreed to significantly increase its operations. They have the capacity to do so. No one should be allowed to stop or impede free speech or assembly!!!”

John Sancenito, security expert and president of Information Network Associates, told ABC27 that he expects extra-height security for Trump’s visit to Harrisburg on Wednesday, adding that the fact that the event will be held indoors will provide a safer environment for both the former president and attendees.

The rally in Butler County was the Secret Service’s “biggest operational failure” in decades, according to Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned last week after testifying at a heated congressional hearing on the agency’s security failures at the July 13 rally.

Crooks managed to climb a nearby building despite being spotted by law enforcement officers more than 30 minutes earlier, and fired multiple shots from the roof of the building, which was less than 150 feet from the stage where Trump was speaking.

Attendees at Butler’s rally told The Inquirer that security measures at Butler’s rally were similar to those they’ve experienced at other Trump rallies. Rally-goers went through bag checks and metal detectors and noticed a massive police presence. Items like firearms, weapons, explosives, umbrellas and laser pointers were also banned.

How many times has Trump visited Pennsylvania this year?

Trump’s visit to Harrisburg on Wednesday will be his sixth to the state this year and his second to Harrisburg and the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex.

In February, Trump addressed thousands of supporters at a National Rifle Association meeting at the Great American Outdoor Show, an exhibition hosted annually at the intricate by the NRA.

His appearance at the NRA trade show was his first visit to Pennsylvania, a key swing state in 2024. He spent much of the speech vacillating between promises to support gun rights and baseless criticism of Biden and Democrats.

So far, Butler County remains the only county in Pennsylvania visited by Trump where the president won the 2020 election.

What will Trump talk about in Harrisburg?

It will be the first time Trump has made his case against Harris in Pennsylvania since she became his up-to-date opponent when Biden dropped out of the race on July 21 and endorsed her. It will also be Trump’s first rally in the commonwealth since Gov. Josh Shapiro he became one of Harris’ main candidates for vice president.

Trump has has already begun to escalate his verbal attacks on Harris at rallies or events since she became the presumptive nominee. Speaking at a conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday, Trump accused Harris of wanting to implement leftist policies in the country and even said she was a “loser” to his audience at a religion-focused event organized by the conservative advocacy group Turning Point Action.

At a rally in North Carolina on July 24 – the first campaign event since Biden withdrew from the race – Trump also continued his exhausted strategy deliberately mispronouncing Harris’ name dozens of times.

But Trump could also mention Shapiro, which could be a troubling addition to Harris’s list among Pennsylvania Republicans.

Shapiro is wildly popular in the key swing state and has won votes from moderates and Republicans in all three of the state’s previous elections. The governor has touted his ability to cut across the aisles while serving as executive head in the only state with a divided legislature.

Shapiro has avoided speculation about whether he will be Harris’ running mate, but he has been Harris’ top surrogate in the commonwealth. In Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, Shapiro reiterated what he sees as the differences between Harris and Trump. The event was originally supposed to be a canvass kickoff but quickly turned into a miniature rally in a county Trump won by 10 points in 2020.

Why is Harrisburg essential in November?

Harrisburg is another opportunity for Trump to take votes away from residents of counties where Democrats won in 2020 and 2016, especially as Harris begins to chip away at Trump’s lead in Pennsylvania and nationwide.

A Fox News poll on Friday showed Harris and Trump tied among Pennsylvania voters, at 49% each. An April Fox poll between Biden and Trump had both candidates at 48%.

Although Dauphin County, where Harrisburg is located, has become bluer over the years, Trump has focused most of his efforts on Pennsylvania counties and demographic groups that Biden won in 2020, seeking to turn away as many voters from Democrats as possible.

Biden beats Trump by 8.5 percentage points in Dauphin County in 2020en route to winning the state by about 1 percentage point. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won Dauphin County by nearly 3 points in 2016, when Trump won statewide. Trump will likely need to improve on his 2020 performance in the county to defeat Harris.

Harrisburg is also represented by Rep. Scott Perry (R., Pa.), a Trump ally who is facing a re-election race of his own.

Perry, who served in the 10th congressional district, includes Dauphin Countyserving in the U.S. Congress since 2019, is now facing a challenge from Democrat Janelle Stelson, a Lancaster County resident and former news anchor at WGAL.

With Stelson’s candidacy, Democrats Now I see that Perry’s place is in danger.And A survey conducted by Franklin & Marshall College found Perry with a 45% to 44% lead over Stelson with 11% undecided. Stelson also outperformed Perry, doubling what he has collected in the past three months, The Pennsylvania-Capital Star reports,.