‘We’re getting our president back’: Republicans excited about Trump’s return to office
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Roberta Corpuz stood just feet behind Donald Trump when bullets rang out at the Butler Farm Show grounds during a July campaign rally.
Six months after watching Trump fall to the ground and then rise with a bloodied ear and raised fist following the Butler assassination attempt, Corpuz will be part of a two-bus caravan traveling to Washington to see Trump take the oath of office to return to the presidency after a four-year hiatus.
“Excited is too less of a comment,” Corpuz, chairwoman of the Robinson Republican Committee, said of attending Trump’s inauguration Monday.
“We’re getting our president back,” she added. “We’re all in and I am expecting to hear that our country is going to turn around.”
The inauguration events will have some local flavor.
First responders who were at the Butler Farm Show rally in July are expected to march in the parade to the White House.
Also expected to be in Washington is Helen Comperatore, whose husband, former Buffalo Township firefighter Corey Comperatore, 50, was shot and killed at the Butler rally.
State Rep. Jill Cooper, R-Murrysville, plans to travel to Washington for the inauguration — just as she did for Trump’s first inauguration in 2017.
Trump is on the verge of becoming the second president in U.S. history to serve nonconsecutive terms. Democrat Grover Cleveland was first elected president in 1884, lost to Benjamin Harrison four years later and then won a rematch against Harrison in 1892 to return to the White House.
“This is very historic, and there is such a different vibe from 2017,” Cooper said.
She predicted Trump’s inauguration speech will be similar to the ones he delivered on the campaign trail last year.
“He ran on immigration so that’s a topic I expect he will address. I think he will also talk about the economy moving forward and how he plans to unite the country. I believe he is a changed man, to a certain degree, after what he went through in Butler. I expect it will be different this time. This isn’t his first rodeo,” Cooper said.
Cooper said she plans to attend a full menu of inauguration events, including a rally Sunday, his oath at the Capitol, the parade to the White House and at least one of the post inaugural balls.
State Rep. Eric Nelson, R-Hempfield, is attending what will be his first inauguration.
“(Trump is) the comeback president and, regardless if you like him or not, it’s truly an historic situation,” Nelson said. “We’re excited to support the new president, and we expect there will so many people there.”
Bob Crankovic of McCandless, a member of the Allegheny County Young Republicans, plans to attend the inauguration and the Presidential Ball on Monday.
“It’s going to be a turning point for the country in a positive way,” said Crankovic, a long-time Trump supporter who attended both campaign events in Butler and rallies in Unity and Pittsburgh during the campaign. “I expect him to give a broad vision not only about what he expects to do in the first 100 days but over his four years.”
Officials predict large crowds will descend upon Washington this weekend ahead of the inauguration.
Corpuz initially planned to book one bus to carry local supporters to the inauguration, but she said overwhelming demand forced her to add another. She said she is traveling with 112 supporters to the inauguration.
Kevin Knoth, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, said requests for tickets to the inauguration have been heavy.
“The congressman’s district will have hundreds of constituents heading to Washington, D.C., to attend President Trump’s inauguration, including from all six counties in Southwest Pennsylvania,” Knoth said in an email. “The level of interest was so high that the congressman was able to secure additional tickets from his colleagues to help fulfill as many requests as possible.”