If Donald Trump had any trepidation about once again addressing a campaign rally, he showed no outward sign of it.
A week after an assassination attempt almost took his life, the former president held court for more than 100 minutes in front of a mostly adoring crowd of roughly 15,000 spectators who'd been thoroughly screened under Secret Service direction.
As Trump looked out from his raised platform, he would have been met by a sea of red MAGA caps but also some T-shirts emblazoned with a photo that has quickly become iconic for his supporters: Trump defiantly pumping his fist, surrounded by security agents as he shouts "fight fight fight".
"I stand before you only by the grace of Almighty God," he told the audience.
What was clear from the rally was how quickly last week's event had become an almost mystical element in the Trump story. For many, the attempt on his life was confirmation there was a grand conspiracy to keep him from power, and they agreed with Trump that it was only through divine intervention that he survived last week with his life.
When accepting his party's official nomination to run for president this week, he recounted his brush with death but also promised it would be the only time he did so because it was "so painful" to describe.
But on Sunday he recounted key details to an enraptured crowd, acting out how he'd shifted his head to the right to read a chart at just the right moment to allow the bullet to pass by his head, only grazing his ear. He received hoots of pleasure when he told the audience he'd be sleeping with the chart that night.
In addition to being a safer option for candidates, the indoor arena seems particularly well-tailored to a Trump rally. The rallies feel like sporting events. A crowd decked out in their team's colours (MAGA red but also stars and stripes and camouflage) with their own team chants like "drill baby drill" or "build the wall" and even a few people desperately trying to get "lock her up" going again.
People jostled each other to grab the campaign signs as they were handed out. One featured Trump's mugshot with "NEVER SURRENDER" and another directed at their political nemesis: "JOE BIDEN, YOU'RE FIRED!"
Since the assassination attempt, there's been a lot of talk about the need to lower the rhetorical temperature in America to decrease the chance of future political violence taking place.
But despite Trump's calls for unity, his speech was littered with attacks on his political rivals. He repeatedly called President Biden "stupid" and attacked Vice-President Harris as "crazy." He skewered Democrats about their leadership tensions and said former House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi had betrayed President Biden like a "dog".
Much of his speech was a re-run of his biggest hits, like railing against critical race theory (CRT), vaccine mandates, and trans athletes, but they are still able to elicit whoops of support from the crowd.
There are other rallies when Trump seems to waver in focus, to start to look like he'd rather be elsewhere. On Sunday, he seemed focused and excited. Perhaps he's feeling increasing confidence because the polls indicate he's on his way to victory and the Democrats appear to be struggling with infighting. Or perhaps he really does believe that his survival was divine intervention.
The vice-presidential factor
The Grand Rapids rally also gave a clearer insight into how the newly installed Republican VP nominee would be utilised by the campaign.
JD Vance first took to the stage a couple of hours before Donald Trump. The senator from the adjoining state of Ohio charmed the crowd by complimenting both their state and their hero, Donald Trump.
Vance's impoverished upbringing means he's got much more in common with the white working-class voters in rust-belt states than Trump, who grew up with great wealth. Vance was able to rail against free trade agreements that he says stole jobs away from states like Michigan with authority, but he's also clearly comfortable playing the support act to the main star, Donald Trump.
There was a huge amount of confidence in the arena on Sunday, both on the stage and in the bleachers. Republicans believe they're on their way to a resounding victory.
The question is whether the formidable display will force desperate Democrats to move on their damaged standard-bearer in order to give the party a fresh shot at derailing the Donald Trump comeback tour.
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