Washington — Former President Donald Trump spoke for the first time on Thursday about the assassination attempt at his rally in Pennsylvania and said he initially believed he had been attacked but survived thanks to the “grace of Almighty God.”
“A lot of people have asked me what happened, ‘Please tell us what happened,’ and so I’m going to tell you exactly what happened, and you’ll never hear it from me a second time, because it’s actually too painful to tell,” Trump told the crowd gathered for the ceremony. Last day of the Republican National Convention in a speech formally accepting the party’s presidential nomination.
The former president said he began speaking “very loudly, powerfully and joyfully” while discussing his administration’s efforts to reduce illegal immigration at the southern border, and was beginning to turn to his right toward a graph showing border crossings when he heard a “loud whistling sound” and felt something hit him in the right ear.
Trump said he immediately thought it was a bullet and after touching his ear with his hand, he saw it was covered in blood.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
“I knew immediately that it was very serious, that we were under attack, and in one movement I dropped to the ground,” he said.
As U.S. Secret Service agents rushed to the stage and surrounded him to protect him, Trump said he felt “very safe, because I had God on my side.”
“What’s incredible is that if I hadn’t moved my head before the shot at that last moment, the assassin’s bullet would have hit its target perfectly, and I wouldn’t be here tonight. We wouldn’t be together,” he said.
Trump then greeted the crowd of his supporters who attended the rally and said that after the shots were fired, they did not flee for the exits, but instead pointed at the shooter. The former president told the audience that he believes many people in attendance thought he was dead and did not want to leave.
“I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” he said. “I’m standing before you in this arena only by the grace of Almighty God. And as I watch the news coverage over the last few days, a lot of people are saying this was a providential moment. It probably was.”
Trump then described raising his right arm and shouting “fight,” a scene that was captured by photographers at the rally and drew cheers from the crowd.
“For the rest of my life, I will be grateful for the love shown by that giant audience of patriots who courageously stood up on that fateful night in Pennsylvania,” he said.
Trump then paid tribute to Corey Companionwho was killed in the shooting, and David Dutch And James Copenhagenwho were injured. The former president said he had spoken with the families of the three men, and the crowd observed a minute of silence in tribute to Comperatore.
“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for another,” he said. “That is the spirit that forged America in its darkest hour, and that is the love that will lead America back to the pinnacle of human achievement and greatness. That is what we need.”
Trump said that despite the attack, Republicans remain committed to building a government that serves the American people.
“Nothing will stop me in this mission because our vision is right and our cause is pure,” he said.
Trump’s speech fence The speech at the Republican National Convention was the first by the president since the assassination attempt at the Butler rally on Saturday. The shooter, identified by the FBI as a 20-year-old man, was killed. Thomas Matthew Crookswas shot dead by a secret service sniper.
The former president was shot in the ear and has since worn a white bandage over his ear. In a show of support for Trump, several convention attendees also placed fake bandages over their ears.
Trump returned to his New Jersey estate after the shooting, but flew to Milwaukee on Sunday for the convention. He attended all four nights and listened to speeches from Republican lawmakers, governors, his former opponents in the presidential primaries, family members and his new running mate, Senator JD Vance from Ohio.
In the aftermath of the attack, Trump called for unity and told the Washington Examiner that he had rewritten his acceptance speech for the Republican presidential nomination. A senior adviser to his campaign, Danielle Alvarez, told CBS News that the address is “deeply personal” and “sincere.”
“This speech, he wrote it personally,” she said. “He made the final edits right up to the rehearsals and the presentations today. And it will be very personal. It will come from the heart. And it will speak to the moment. It will call for the unity that the nation needs.”
