In his first official interview following the failed assassination attempt against him, former President Donald Trump expressed his gratitude and expressed love for his supporters.
Marveling that he was “supposed to be dead,” Trump spoke with the New York Post about the terrifying moments at a Pennsylvania rally Saturday that almost ended his life.
“The doctor at the hospital said he never saw anything like this, he called it a miracle,” Trump said on a plane on the way to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the start of the Republican National Convention. The presumptive GOP nominee had been treated at a hospital and departed Bedminster, N.J. with a bandaged ear.
“I’m not supposed to be here, I’m supposed to be dead,” Trump said. “I’m supposed to be dead.”
He noted that turning his head at just the precise moment may be what saved him – that and the hand of God. And in true Trump fashion, the former president expressed that he had wanted to keep going with the rally but the Secret Service detail was insistent on getting him to safety.
Trump related how the security team came at him like they were “linebackers” and he had a bruise on his right forearm to show for it.
“The agents hit me so hard that my shoes fell off, and my shoes are tight,” he said, smiling, giving some insight into the odd moment in the chaos when he could be heard insisting to the Secret Service that he wanted to retrieve his shoes before leaving the platform.
The shooter, aiming and firing from a roof about 130 yards from Trump on the stage, was killed by Secret Service snipers.
“They took him out with one shot right between the eyes,” Trump told The Post, pointing to the bridge of his nose.
“They did a fantastic job,” he said. “It’s surreal for all of us.”
Trump agreed that the image of his fist in the air, blood on his face and surrounded by security is “iconic.”
“A lot of people say it’s the most iconic photo they’ve ever seen,” he said. “They’re right and I didn’t die. Usually you have to die to have an iconic picture.”
“I just wanted to keep speaking, but I just got shot,” he added, recalling how the doctor who treated him said he’d never seen anyone survive being hit by an AR-15.
“By luck or by God, many people are saying it’s by God I’m still here,” he said.
He noted the call he received from President Joe Biden after the shooting was “fine” and added that Biden was “very nice.”
Trump also indicated that he had changed the speech he had planned to deliver at the RNC.
“I had all prepared an extremely tough speech, really good, all about the corrupt, horrible administration,” he said, then suddenly added: “But I threw it away.”
In a tragic loss, firefighter Corey Comperatore was killed by one of the bullets fired by the shooter. The 50-year-old father of two died shielding his family as shots rang out. Two others were critically injured and were being treated at hospitals. Trump told The Post he would like to attend his funeral and then reportedly asked an aide, “Get the numbers, I want to go the hospital and call all the families.”
Trump authorized a GoFundMe campaign for the victims of the rally shooting in Butler, far exceeding the $1 million goal initially set. As of this writing, the page has raised over $3.6 million.
“A lot of places, especially soccer games, you hear a single shot, everybody runs. Here there were many shots and they stayed,” Trump said of the attendees at the rally, which numbered over 50,000.
“I love them. They are such great people.”