White House marks two years since Butler assassination attempt on Trump

Summary

Two years ago today, a 20-year-old gunman opened fire on a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing Donald Trump's right ear, killing one attendee, and wounding two others before Secret Service agents shot the shooter dead. It was the closest a sitting or former president had come to dying by a bullet since Ronald Reagan survived John Hinckley's shot in 1981. Trump, then the Republican nominee, raised his fist to the crowd seconds after hitting the ground, a photograph that became one of the most widely reproduced images of the 2024 election cycle. The White House marked the second anniversary on Monday, July 13, 2026, with Trump himself pointing to the moment as evidence of divine protection, saying 'God was with me.' The attack reshaped the final months of the 2024 campaign and remains a defining episode of Trump's political biography. Corey Comperatore, the firefighter killed shielding his family, has been remembered at multiple commemorations since.