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.TWO YEARS AFTER BUTLER, THREATS AGAINST TRUMP KEEP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT IN SHARP FOCUSThe 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, h...