At Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, Dr. James Sweetland took the stage earlier in the afternoon. You may not know his name, but he found himself in the middle of the mayhem in Butler, Pa., on July 13 as an attendee of the rally and personally tried to save the life of Corey Comperatore, who was sadly killed.
An emergency room doctor I spoke with tried to save someone’s life in the crowd @CBSNews pic.twitter.com/OJvScwRLRk
— jake rosen (@JakeMRosen) July 13, 2024
"My name is Dr. James Sweetland," he began. "I had the opportunity to take care of Corey Comperatore during the last Butler rally. The fact that all you are here makes you all heroes. You're standing up for your candidate and the right to celebrate your candidate. Please give yourself a big round of applause. You deserve it."
"In speaking today, I have to give you two disclaimers," he continued. "First one is that the opinions that you hear from me today are mine and mine alone. They do not represent the organizations I work for, UPMC, Lochaven, or Schumacher Clinical Partners. Having said that, I have another disclaimer. I used to be a Democrat. Please forgive me for that."
Trump invited the doctor who tried to save Corey Comperatore's life on July 13th, and it turns out the doctor was a former Democrat
— George (@BehizyTweets) October 5, 2024
"Having said that, I have another disclaimer. I used to be a Democrat. Please forgive me for that."
Dr. James Sweetland is another hero. God bless… pic.twitter.com/bZvesG4iPR
After that lighthearted moment, Sweetland continued with humility when he spoke about what happened after Trump was shot.
"I hesitated," he said. "Then, I heard a voice, loud, clear, rich, and reassuring that spoke to me. It said, 'Go, go, they need your help.'" I hesitated. The voice said, "Why are you waiting? Go."
"I'm telling you right now that was the voice of God," he continued. "I came and rendered aid as best I could to Corey Comperatore. I did not know who he was. He's a large man, about 6'2", about 200 pounds. And I was aided again by Rico Elmore and another Air Force vet by the name of Ed Sheer. I'm calling you guys out. You are awesome."
“I've been called a hero many times over for my actions that day,” he said, visibly grappling with the weight of that title. But in his view, Corey Comperatore—the man whose life he tried to save—is the real hero. “I think I'll struggle with it for some time because in the pantheon of heroes, I'm at the bottom rung. Corey Comperatore is at the top. I am honored to be mentioned in the same breath as Corey.”
Sweetland’s message, however, wasn't solely about revisiting the past. It was a rallying cry for unity and civility. He turned to the audience and asked something profound.
I'm honored that you are here and clapping for me. But I wanna say that each one of you are heroes, and I'm gonna ask you to do something that will change his campaign and guarantee that Donald Trump is gonna be elected our next president of the United States. It's simple to hear, but it might be a little bit harder to do. Each one of us knows at least two people that do not share our political views. You know them. Call them up and say, "we need to turn down the temperature in the room."
"An assassin's bullet should not decide our election," he urged, a somber reminder of how high the stakes have become.
In a world that feels increasingly polarized, Sweetland’s call for dialogue was a much-needed appeal to dial down the hostility. He emphasized that speaking with respect and civility about political differences could have surprising results. Sweetland, a former Democrat himself, highlighted how productive these conversations could be, recounting his own experiences with five individuals who initially didn’t share his political leanings. His message was simple: Democrats may seem resistant, but like teenagers, “When you talk to them, you don't think they're listening, but they really are.”
Dr. James E. Sweetland Speaks at the Historic Trump Rally in Butler, PA pic.twitter.com/lAtTCxojpL
— Patriot Pointman 🇺🇸 (@PatriotPointman) October 5, 2024
I hope he's right.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member