I was at Butler two years ago when America saw what courage looks like

Two years ago this week, America came within inches of a tragedy that would have altered history forever.

On a sweltering July day at the Butler Farm Show grounds, I took the stage to address thousands who had come to hear a message of strength and hope from President Donald Trump. Then, backstage, I looked President Trump in the eye. He asked me how things looked on the ground. I told him what we all believed: “We’re going to deliver Pennsylvania for you, Mr. President.”

Minutes later, everything changed.

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The crack of gunfire cut through the air, shattering the joy of that day. I had heard that sound before in Afghanistan as a Marine. I pulled my wife to the ground and shouted for those around me to follow. Just 15 feet behind me, Corey Comperatore made the ultimate sacrifice, shielding his wife and daughters with his own body, saving their lives at the cost of his own.

President Trump had been shot. Confusion, fear, and disbelief flurried across the fairgrounds. Secret Service agents rushed to shield him from further fire as the would-be assassin was eliminated. Then, in an image now seared into the world’s memory, President Trump rose bloodied but unbroken, raised his fist in triumphant defiance, and delivered a rallying cry that still echoes across America: “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

In the chaos of a single moment, we saw both the best and the worst of humanity. Evil exists. Courage does, too.

We witnessed evil in its rawest form. But we also witnessed the extraordinary heroism of a father protecting his family, and the defiant courage of a leader who would not be silenced.

Corey Comperatore was the very best of us. A firefighter who ran toward danger for decades, a man of deep conviction who gave his life so his family might live. His sacrifice was not symbolic; it was immediate. It was the final act of a man who understood that duty sometimes demands everything. Two years later, his wife Helen and their daughters still carry his loss, yet they have channeled their grief into purpose through service and advocacy that honors his memory.

As mayor of Slippery Rock, just a short drive from those fields, and as someone who had the honor of traveling across Pennsylvania with President Trump’s team before casting one of Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes for him, I saw firsthand how the events of July 13 sent shockwaves through our communities.

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Neighbors grieved together. First responders restored order. Communities grew closer instead of pulling apart. What was intended to weaken us made us stronger.

The attack in Butler didn’t just fail to break us. It galvanized us.

The attempt on President Trump’s life failed to stop him. It failed to stop the America First movement. If anything, it clarified what was at stake. Americans saw a man willing to risk everything for the country he loves, and they responded by giving him a decisive victory and returning him to the White House. Today, he is delivering on the America First mission by securing our border, unleashing American energy, expanding school choice, supporting our veterans and law enforcement, and putting working families first.

Anniversaries like this are not only occasions to remember what we survived. They are opportunities to recommit to the strength those events demand of us. We must resolve to better protect those who seek to lead and the citizens who peacefully assemble. We must stand with our men and women in uniform who stand on the thin line between order and chaos, just as Corey Comperatore did.

Two years later, the message remains clear: We will not be intimidated. We will not forget the hero who gave everything on that field. And we will not let down the next generation, my own daughters among them, who deserve an America that is safe, strong, and true to its founding promise.

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President Trump looked at me that day and asked us not to let him down. Butler County kept its promise. The American people kept theirs. Now it is our duty to keep building the country worthy of Corey Comperatore’s sacrifice and the courage we witnessed on July 13, 2024.

Together, we remember. Together, we fight on.