Donald Trump, holding his first campaign rally since surviving an assassination attempt, dismissed concerns that he is a threat to democracy, triumphantly telling a cheering crowd: "Last week I took a bullet for democracy."
"I'm not an extremist at all," he said at the rally in the swing state of Michigan, dismissing his reported links to Project 2025, a radical shadow manifesto led by figures close to him that has been characterised by opponents as an authoritarian, right-wing wish list.
He also mocked the Democratic Party, roiled by unprecedented pressure for President Joe Biden to abandon the White House race amid concerns over his age and fitness to serve, if re-elected, until 2029.
"They have no idea who their candidate is ... This guy goes and he gets the votes, and now they want to take it away. That's democracy," Mr Trump told the 12,000-strong crowd of passionate supporters.
Even as he veered into his typical, rambling campaign speech, the rally represented a moment remarkable by any measure, with Mr Trump back on stage exactly one week since a gunman tried to kill him.
The Republican presidential nominee appeared wearing a new, smaller, flesh-coloured bandage over his right ear, bloodied in the attack by a 20-year-old gunman at a rally in Pennsylvania that killed one bystander.
Security was reportedly tight inside the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, amid questions over Secret Service lapses at the Pennsylvania rally - though there were few visible signs of any greater law enforcement presence.
It comes as Biden loyalists continue to defend the embattled president as the drumbeat of calls for him to abandon his campaign grows louder.
The 81-year-old and his team have remained publicly adamant that he is staying in the race, though some reports suggest discussions have begun in his inner circle about how exactly he might step aside.
Team Trump, for its part, is effervescent after an exceptional streak of luck - from the failed assassination bid to favourable court rulings and Mr Biden's disastrous debate performance last month.
"I had God on my side," Mr Trump told the Republican National Convention, at which he demonstrated his absolute control over the party, firing supporters up to a rare pitch.
Yesterday was Mr Trump's debut campaign appearance with running mate JD Vance, a US senator from Ohio who, at age 39, could help win over critical swing states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Ahead of Mr Trump's speech Mr Vance warmed up the crowd, taking a swipe at Ms Harris.
"I did serve in the United States Marine Corps and build a business. What the hell have you done, other than collect a check?" he said of the former US senator and California attorney general.
Mr Trump supporters had begun lining up in their dozens in Grand Rapids on Friday, nearly a full day before the rally began.
Edward Young, 64, preparing for his 81st Trump rally, was wearing a T-shirt showing the already iconic photo of Mr Trump pumping his fist immediately after being shot.
"They have turned him into a martyr and left him alive," he said.
"Now he's more powerful than ever," he added.
