Trump after 2nd attempt:

After assassination attempt: Trump’s first appearance

The election campaign continues for Donald Trump.(Bild: APA/AP)

Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump has made his first campaign appearance since the suspected assassination attempt on him. During a speech in the city of Flint in the US state of Michigan on Tuesday, he made a connection between the incident on Sunday at his golf course in Florida and his call for high tariffs on car imports from Mexico and China.

"And then you wonder why I'm being shot at? Only important presidents get shot at", Trump presented himself as a defender of the US car industry. If he does not win the election on November 5, "there will be no more jobs in the automotive industry", said the 78-year-old. Flint was once a central location for the industry before numerous factories were forced to close.

Head-to-head race
Trump and Democratic candidate Harris are in a neck-and-neck race for the White House. Harris contacted her rival by telephone on Tuesday and expressed her relief at the mild outcome of the suspected assassination attempt. Harris and Trump had a "cordial and brief" telephone conversation, the White House said.

"No place for political violence"
Harris said during an appearance in the US state of Pennsylvania that she had wanted to hear whether Trump was OK. "And I told him what I've said publicly: There is no place for political violence in our country," Harris said in an interview with the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ).

And I told him what I've said publicly: There is no place for political violence in our country.

Demokratische Kandidatin Kamala Harris

Pennsylvania, like Michigan, is one of the swing states that will be especially contested in November's election. Polls are predicting an extremely close election. After the assassination attempt, Trump accused Harris and President Joe Biden of inciting violence against him with their choice of words. The right-wing populist is known for inflaming the political climate with polemical statements.

Police officers arrested the suspect Ryan Routh.(Bild: APA/AP)

Police forces investigated the area around the Trump International Golf Club.(Bild: APA/Getty Images via AFP/GETTY IMAGES/JOE RAEDLE)

"Attempted assassination"
Biden and Harris had already expressed relief on Sunday that Trump was unharmed in the incident. A man had previously been arrested in Florida who had positioned himself at Trump's golf course in West Palm Beach armed with a rifle. According to investigators, he was a few hundred meters away from the ex-president. The man did not fire a shot. Investigators suspect an "attempted assassination".