Former President Trump, reflecting on the recent attempt on his life, described the experience as surreal as he traveled to the Republican convention in Milwaukee. He recounted the moment when shots rang out during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last Saturday, narrowly escaping harm, while boasting about his “iconic photo” taken amid the chaos.
“I shouldn’t be here. I should be dead,” Trump remarked to reporters aboard his plane. “The doctor said it’s a miracle. He’d never seen anyone survive being hit by an AR-15.”
Praising the Secret Service’s swift response, Trump emphasized, “They did an incredible job. It’s surreal for all of us.”
During the brief chaos on stage, photographers captured a now widely-circulated image of Trump defiantly pumping his fist amidst the turmoil.
“Many people are calling it the most iconic photo they’ve ever seen,” Trump said proudly in an interview. “And they’re right. Usually, you have to die to have an iconic picture.”
Reflecting on the moment he was shot at, Trump added, “I just wanted to keep speaking, but I got hit.”
The assailant, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, was swiftly neutralized by authorities, but not before causing casualties. Trump noted solemnly, “He was taken out with one shot right between the eyes.”
Despite the incident, Trump reaffirmed his commitment to attending the convention, saying: “I cannot allow a ‘shooter,’ or potential assassin, to force change to scheduling, or anything else.”
In a separate interview with another Washington Examiner reporter, Trump said he plans to deliver a revised speech focusing on national unity and criticizing President Biden’s policies.
“The speech I was going to give on Thursday was going to be a humdinger,” Trump said, according to the newspaper. “Had this not happened, this would’ve been one of the most incredible speeches,” he lamented. “But now, it’s going to be something even more significant.”
In a televised prime-time address on Sunday night, Biden called on Americans to dial down the political temperature.
“The political rhetoric in this country has gotten very heated. It’s time to cool it down,” he said in remarks in the Oval Office. “This places an added burden on all of us that no matter how strong our convictions, we must never descend into violence.”
