Former US President Donald Trump, who narrowly escaped an assassination attempt during a Pennsylvania rally, revealed that the incident left former First Lady Melania Trump deeply traumatised. Watching the event live, Melania "thought the worst had happened" and still struggles to talk about the moment he dropped to the ground.
In an interview with Fox News, he explained the reaction of former first lady Melania. "When I went down, she thought the worst had happened,” and added, “because I went down and grabbed my hand and my hand was loaded up with blood,” the 45th President said.
“She can’t really, even talk about it, which is okay, because that means she likes me, or she loves me,” Trump said.
NEW: Donald Trump says Melania was watching his rally live when he was shot in the face by Thomas Crooks, says she is traumatized.Ingraham: What was Melania's reaction?
Trump: She was watching live. It was all over the place. I asked her that, I mean, I wasn't there. I was on… pic.twitter.com/2CYLRuSBw4
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— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 30, 2024
The former First Lady expressed similar sentiments in her statement following the assassination attempt. "When I watched that violent bullet strike my husband, Donald, I realized my life, and Barron’s life, were on the brink of devastating change," Melania said immediately after the July 13 shooting.
Despite narrowly escaping an assassination attempt and the Secret Service urging him to hold fewer outdoor rallies, Donald Trump defiantly stated that the shooting would not deter him.
He continued to support the Secret Service agents, despite the intense scrutiny they faced since the July 13 incident and the loss of their chief. Trump acknowledged that the protective unit should have coordinated better with local police to stop the shooter but praised the agents for their bravery.
"They were very brave. I went down and they were -- they were on top of me, I had a lot of very big, strong people on top of me," Trump said.
He added, "Should've been somebody on the roof, should've been communication with the local police and we're seeing this guy, who was a very disturbed person."
The former president confirmed he would give a "victim statement" to the FBI. In the interview, he reiterated familiar campaign themes, claiming Joe Biden's departure from the Democratic 2024 ticket was due to a “coup” and criticising Kamala Harris as a "weaker and more radical candidate than Biden."
Trump mentioned he would "probably" end up debating Harris, despite his campaign hinting at backing out of the debates.
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