On Wednesday, the former US president will host an outdoor rally in North Carolina. This will be his first public campaign event since he barely avoided being assassinated during a public appearance one month ago.
According to US media, campaign staff and security professionals have increased security measures for the afternoon rally that is set to take place at an aviation museum in Asheboro, North Carolina. These measures include the installation of bulletproof glass around the Republican nominee’s podium.
After failing to stop a gunman who opened fire on Trump from a rooftop during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, wounding him in the ear and killing one person in the crowd, the Secret Service had advised Trump to cease hosting outdoor rallies.
Trump has made it known that he wants to see more outside events. Since the shooting, he has conducted around a dozen indoor rallies. At an indoor arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on July 31, he declared to his supporters that “we’re not giving up the outdoor rallies.”
Days earlier, the 78-year-old Trump posted on social media that he would continue to hold open-air events, “and the Secret Service has agreed to substantially step up their operation. They are very capable of doing so.”
Requests for confirmation of the use of bulletproof glass and other heightened security measures were not answered by the Secret Service, which often refrains from making public comments on security activities.
According to a source with direct knowledge of the security arrangements, the Washington Examiner on Tuesday claimed that the protective detail is preparing for Trump to address thousands of rally participants in Asheboro while positioned behind a unique see-through protective glass barrier.
According to the newspaper, the glass is comparable to that found in the presidential limousine, which is likewise made to shield its occupants from gunfire.
Trump’s rally in Asheboro is a form of counter-programming. It comes on Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where security officials have set up a ring of steel around the gathering that formally names Kamala Harris as the party’s 2024 presidential nominee, after President Joe Biden exited the race.
Security was also airtight at last month’s Republican National Convention, which took place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin just days after the assassination attempt.
Along with Senate colleague J.D. Vance, Trump is set to speak at the North Carolina Aviation Museum & Hall of Fame. The museum’s Facebook page contains pictures of bleachers that have been erected to hold thousands of people, and it has guest instructions from the Trump-Vance campaign that say, “This event will be outdoors.”
North Carolina, a state in the South, is one of the few swing states that will likely decide the outcome of the election on November 5.
