Donald Trump calls US a 'failing nation' during first rally after assassination attempt

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

62% : Many included references to the shooting Trump survived in Pennsylvania, a theme throughout the evening.
61% : Whitmer released a video in which she welcomed Trump and Vance to Michigan, then excoriated them on their records on abortion rights, lowering the cost of prescription drugs and, in Trump's case, breaking his promises to bring more auto jobs back to Michigan while he was president.
60% : During a brief speech before Trump took the stage, Vance said he heard some in the crowd chant "O-H", the first half of a well-known Ohio State University cheer.
58% : Trump narrowly beat Hillary Clinton by two-tenths of a percentage point on his way to winning the White House in 2016; four years later, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Biden won the state by about 3 points.
55% : Michigan, as it has in recent elections, remains a key swing state and one that appears to have swung more toward Trump in recent polls.
52% : The fact that Trump selected Grand Rapids as the site for his first rally after the shooting and his successful nominating convention isn't surprising, given that he has concluded his campaigning in the city in both of the last two elections and west Michigan is home to a significant bloc of Republican voters.
48% : Trump addressed the shooting again in his speech, crediting the news media for covering it fairly and saying, somewhat pensively.
48% : But Trump has put himself in a strong position heading into the final four months of the campaign, barring a dramatic change in the Democratic ticket's trajectory.
34% : "Last week, I took a bullet for democracy," said Trump, who wore a small flesh-colored bandage over his right ear.
34% : "What did I do against democracy?"Speaking amid heightened security to a packed audience of supporters that waved signs with Trump's picture and the words, "Never Surrender," and others reading "Joe Biden, you're fired," Trump repeated several false assertions about creating auto jobs in Michigan when he was president and that he was given a "Man of the Year" award in Michigan several years ago, which did not happen.
33% : ""We're a failing nation," Trump said early in his speech.
30% : The Biden administration has pushed substantial tariffs to prevent Chinese-made EVs from entering the U.S.Trump was introduced by his running mate, 39-year-old U.S. Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, who Trump said he picked because Vance is "for the worker."
27% : Trump and his campaign have said repeatedly they do not endorse Project 2025 and have not said they intend to enact it but Democrats have continued to use it as a warning to voters.
25% : Trump also falsely suggested an impending invasion of Chinese-run automotive plants operating in Mexico in an effort to flood the U.S. market.
25% : Trump and Vance have spoken at length about using tariffs to protect American workers and products, even though economists argue tariffs cost consumers more, and Vance, specifically, has talked at length about the U.S. staying out of foreign conflicts.
22% : On Saturday, Trump specifically said of the project, "I don't know what the hell it is" but called some of the recommendations he has heard about "seriously extreme," suggesting he could not support them.
19% : Worries about Biden's ability to beat Trump have grown since he gave a poor performance in a June 27 debate in Atlanta, where he often seemed confused and unable to give coherent responses.
19% : Vance also suggested he and Trump will help get the U.S. out of foreign conflicts that "are none of our business," presumably referring to American support for Ukraine against Russian aggression.
18% : As he has battled to retain his spot at the top of the Democratic Party, Biden and his allies -- including Whitmer, a co-chair of his national campaign -- have urged the media to focus on the threat posed by Trump, arguing that he lies to the American people and constitutes a serious threat to democracy given his efforts to overturn the 2020 election he lost to Biden.
17% : Trump also rejected Democrats' contention that he is a threat to democracy, arguing it is the Democrats who want to overturn the results of the primary season by talking about getting Biden to step aside.
7% : Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, who was Trump's White House physician, issued a letter Saturday saying he has been seeing Trump regularly since the incident and that, while healing normally, Trump still needs to wear a dressing over the wound.
5% : State Party Chairwoman Lavora Barnes accused Trump and Vance of "championing a dangerous Project 2025 agenda," a reference to an effort by former aides and advisers to Trump to enact sweeping changes to the federal government, eliminating the U.S. Department of Education and giving the president more control over Justice Department decisions and hiring and firing civil servants.
2% : "During the address, Trump attacked Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, calling her "terrible" and saying, "I'd like to run against her, actually," with President Joe Biden facing pressure from his own party to step down as nominee and Whitmer being mentioned by some as a possible replacement.

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