The former president returned to Pennsylvania on Wednesday for a rally in the State Capitol of Harrisburg. But Trump says he wants to return to the site of the failed assassination attempt against him as a way to honor Corey Comperatore, a Trump supporter who died from the gunfire that wounded the former president and two others attending the rally on the Butler Farm Show grounds.
The gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was able to get off eight rounds before he was eliminated by a Secret Service sniper. Trump has not revealed the date or location of the return to Butler, PA, only stating on his Truth Social platform: "Stay tuned for details."
Diane Gramley, president of the American Family Association of Pennsylvania, tells AFN she thinks "it's fantastic" Trump plans to return to the scene of the shooting.
"To me, that shows real leadership. It shows that he's not down and that he's willing to come back and finish a rally that was interrupted by an attempted assassination. I think it's a good idea," says Gramley.
"I think his emphasis is going to be to honor the life of Cory, the former fire chief who was killed protecting his family. It'll be to honor him as well as the two who were injured and just got out of the hospital. I think it shows real leadership in him doing that," she repeats.
Gramley also admits she finds it "troubling" that many questions about that day remain unanswered. "More and more things are being exposed about how very lax that his security was," she states.
A former Secret Service agent-turned-political commentator and podcaster is also troubled by that.
Did I hear that right?
Dan Bongino, who served in the Secret Service for 12 years before going into the media, still has back-channel connections with agents still in the Service. He says the failures of July 13 make him embarrassed for his former colleagues and he's been several days out in front of most of the breaking news about the ongoing investigation, which he says is not going well.
Bongino replayed the following sound bite on his podcast and picked up on a bombshell admission from Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe at his Senate hearing on Tuesday under questioning from Missouri Senator Josh Hawley:
Hawley: Let me ask you this, who was the lead site agent?
Rowe: Senator, I cannot give you that name. This person is operational, they're still doing investigations, they're still doing protective visits.
Bongino (reacting on air): "What?!? Did I just hear the director say the agent is still on protection?"
Hawley and several other politicians from both parties have grilled Rowe inquiring why there haven't been more firings in the wake of what's been described as the most spectacular failure in Secret Service history, starting with the field agent in charge that day.
"The site agent at the scene from the Pittsburgh field office and a supervisor who did the walkthrough – that's who did it. Ron Rowe knows that," said Bongino.
And he contends Rowe is neck-deep in the spectacular mission failure of July 13. "He just doesn't want to tell you that because he's busy covering everything up of withholding security assets from the Trump campaign."
According to Bongino, Rowe is immensely unpopular with the rank and file – and the political commentator says he's let that be known.
"Senator [Ted] Cruz, [Josh] Hawley, Mike Lee, [Ron] Johnson – [they] should be demanding this guy resign today too," said Bongino. "I've warned [those senators] about this guy. I haven't got a single e-mail from a former or active agent in support of him. Zero!"
Rowe assumed the role of Secret Service director following the resignation of Kimberly Cheatle. She had faced growing calls to resign and several investigations into how the shooter was able to get so close to Trump at the outdoor campaign rally in Butler.
