Former President Donald Trump was at a town hall event in Flint, Michigan Tuesday, making his first public appearance since a second apparent assassination attempt against him on Sunday.
Trump called candidacy for president “a dangerous business.”
“Only consequential presidents get shot at,” he said.
The town hall was Trump’s first such event since an apparent assassination attempt against him at his private golf club in Florida on Sunday.
Trump said he received a call from Vice President Harris on Tuesday, in which she expressed her gratitude that he was unharmed.
“It was very, very nice, and we appreciate that,” Trump said.
At the meeting, Trump said Democrats’ focus on electric vehicles was meant to undermine U.S. auto manufacturing. He repeated false claims that China was building cars in Mexico to saturate the U.S. market.
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Harris on Tuesday held an interview with journalists from the National Association of Black Journalists. She answered questions about support from her campaign among Black male voters and hit Trump on his response to the Coronavirus pandemic and his record opposing abortion access.
But Harris avoided mentioning Trump by name, and has been careful in addressing Sunday’s apparent assassination attempt.
In an interview, Trump told the Washington Post “I really believe that the rhetoric from the Democrats” is “making the bullets fly And it’s very dangerous. Dangerous for them. It’s dangerous for both sides.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday warned against any rhetoric that may incite violence, saying that people may take it “very seriously.”
Trump will campaign this week in New York, Washington, D.C., and North Carolina.
Harris will make further appearances in Washington, Michigan an Wisconsin.