Elon Musk will be at Donald Trump’s Butler rally to support the former president during his highly anticipated return

Elon Musk says he will be in Butler, Pa., Saturday to support former President Donald Trump during a rally at the same site where Trump was shot in the ear during an assassination attempt three months ago.

Musk’s anticipated appearance at the Butler Farm Show grounds highlights the billionaire X CEO’s continued role as a top Trump ally and underscores the national attention that the former president’s “hero’s welcome” is likely to receive. According to a Trump campaign news release, Musk is one of many “special guests” expected. Musk was identified on the list as “Founder, CEO, and Chief Engineer of SpaceX.”

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Trump will return to the Butler Farm Show grounds Saturday at 5 p.m., the same place where a gunman, 20-year old Thomas Matthew Crooks, opened fire on July 13 just moments into Trump’s rally speech in a near-miss assassination attempt on the former president, fatally shooting one attendee, seriously wounding two others, and striking Trump in his ear. Crooks was eventually fatally shot by a Secret Service sniper.

Trump has said Saturday’s rally will honor Corey Comperatore, the firefighter killed at the rally while shielding his wife and daughter; law enforcement; and the two rally-goers who were injured. But the highly anticipated return is also likely to be a national spectacle.

Comperatore’s family, along with law enforcement and first responders from Butler and other Pennsylvania counties will be in attendance. The rally is also expected to host around 60 special guests, including Musk, Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, and Newtown Athletic Club owner and major Trump donor Jim Worthington. Dan Newlin, a Florida personal injury attorney and major GOP donor who gave to victims after the July shooting and is responsible for the large Trump billboard overlooking Market Street, is also scheduled to attend.

“From tech titans like Elon Musk to former Democrats like Tulsi Gabbard and RFK Jr. on his side, President Donald J. Trump is the unity candidate in this election to restore peace, prosperity, and stability for America at home and abroad,” Kush Desai, the Team Trump spokesperson for Pennsylvania, said in a statement to The Inquirer.

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Musk has positioned himself as a loyal supporter of the former president and has often spread disinformation on X, including sharing a video that sought to vilify Haitian immigrants after Trump’s false and xenophobic claims about the community in Charleroi, Pa.

Musk’s appearance this weekend in Butler — believed to be his first public appearance at a Trump campaign event — is fitting as Musk noted during an August conversation with Trump on X Spaces that the former president’s “strength under fire” during the assassination attempt played a part in his decision to endorse him.

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“Your actions at the assassination attempt were inspiring … instead of shying away from things, instead of ducking down, you were pumping your first in the air and saying, ‘Fight, fight, fight,’” Musk said during the long-winded August conversation that went somewhat viral solely for its 42-minute delay due to technical difficulties.

Musk has previously supported Democratic politicians, including President Joe Biden during his White House bid in 2020, and said during the X Spaces conversation with Trump that he once “stood in line for six hours to shake [former President Barack] Obama’s hand.”

Trump’s return to Butler with Musk and other special guests is “a testament to his determination to keep uniting our country and fight for the everyday Americans who have been ignored and left behind under Kamala Harris,” Desai said.