Donald Trump returned to the rally stage in Grand Rapids, Michigan, two days after his 92 minute-long Republican National Convention, and one week removed from being wounded by a would-be assassin’s bullet. 

Though his nearly two-hour-long speech began with graciousness in the wake of his near-death experience, it wasn’t long until he returned to his usual routine.

Within minutes of insisting that his movement is more united than ever, he resumed his attacks on his favorite targets, including President Joe Biden, the news media, supposedly-stolen elections, migrants from the southern border, Democratic congressional leaders and his less-favored unions.

"He’s stupid. He’s a stupid person. Low IQ, a low IQ person," Trump said in an embittered moment, insisting at one point that "we are a nation run by fools and stupid people."

Trump’s voice, as it was Thursday on the fourth night of the RNC, was relatively subdued, with less vigor than it held in the moments before a rifle bullet ripped through his right ear. 

“I stand before you only by the grace of almighty God,” he said, the white gauze on his ear now replaced by a skin-colored bandage. “I shouldn’t be here right now," he went on.

Trump used that level of energy to great affect in the early moments of his speech, as he thanked God, the crowd, the physicians of Butler Memorial Hospital, and even the news media (whom he admitted covered the situation fairly).

He also thanked Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, who he says is his personal doctor, for care after the shooting. "A great admiral, a great doctor," Trump said. (Though technically, neither of those things are true: Jackson’s license to practice medicine has reportedly expired, and the U.S. Navy has demoted him from retired admiral to retired captain after investigations into alleged misconduct as White House physician.)

Then, after a few moments discussing the RNC, Trump moved to the Democrats, and their upcoming national convention. "And they have a couple of problems," he said, veering away from the teleprompter. "This guy goes and he gets the votes, and now they want to take it away. That’s democracy — they talk about democracy, '[then] let’s take it away from him.’"

As he returned back to the prompter, he returned to a statesman-like approach: "But now we go forward as one movement…it’s one movement, and we’re more united, determined, than ever before. We’ve never been so determined," he said.

Then, again, the shift.

"Bad things happened last time. We’re not going to let them happen, this time — bad, bad things happened," Trump said. The 2020 election, he said, was "rigged" by "radical left Democrats" — repeating an argument that has failed in many courts for lack of proof time and time and time again.

Joe Biden, is a "stupid president that we have, stupid, he’s a stupid person."

Nancy Pelosi, again, is "crazy as a bedbug."

The U.S., he said, is weak on energy policy due to "their stupidity." (The U.S. is a net energy exporter, producing more oil than ever before and is the largest oil producer in the world.)

America’s enemies, he said, will "fear the United States again," before once again repeating compliments from Hungarian authoritarian Viktor Orban, who said that Trump will restore global order.

Trump also, again, disavowed the far-right Project 2025 presidential transition plan, calling it a project of the "severe right."

"But I don’t know anything about it, I don’t want to know anything about it…but what they do is misinformation and disinformation," Trump said. "And they keep saying, 'he’s a threat to democracy,' and I’m saying, what the hell did I do for democracy? Last week I took a bullet for democracy!"

Trump did acknowledge that he "knows some of them, I know who they are," regarding authors of Project 2025, though he has not mentioned that the Schedule F employment category he approved late in his presidency is foundational to Project 2025’s plan to replace existing civil servants and public employees with conservative loyalists at all levels of government. However, Trump’s own Agenda47 series of policy videos promises to restore Schedule F, which was removed early in the Biden administration. (Trump’s own plan pledges to "re-issue [the] 2020 executive order restoring the president’s authority to fire rogue bureaucrats" and "overhaul federal departments and agencies, firing all of the corrupt actors in our National Security and Intelligence apparatus.")

The event was Trump’s first supported by his new running mate, vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, and their first since they were nominated by the GOP at this week’s RNC.

“I find it hard to believe that a week ago, an assassin tried to take Donald Trump’s life, and now we have got a hell of a crowd in Michigan to welcome him back on the campaign trail,” Vance said before Trump’s arrival.

The event also made news for one more reason: U.S. Senate candidate for Michigan Sandy Pensler emotionally announced on stage, beside Trump, that he was dropping out of the race to support Trump-endorsed candidate Mike Rogers. Rogers is one of many candidates seeking to replace retiring Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.