HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania — Almost three months after a fateful turn of his head saved his life, former President Donald Trump is returning to Butler, Pennsylvania, hoping to recapture the sense of inevitability that he will return to the White House.

On July 13, Trump was the front-runner in the 2024 race, his criminal cases helping him outpoll and outraise President Joe Biden amid public concerns about the economy and immigration. When Trump rose to his feet with his fist in the air, bleeding from the ear after Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire during a rally at Butler Family Farms, his return to the White House seemed inevitable.