‘I should be dead. Many people are saying it’s by God I’m still here" - TRUMP says in first interview since assassination attempt

 Monday, July 15, 2024 - Former US president, Donald Trump said "I'm supposed to be dead" in his first interview since a gunman tried to assassinate him on Saturday July 13.

The former President called his lucky escape a "miracle" and revealed why moving his head at that moment saved his life.

Trump was shot in the ear at a political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania when Thomas Crooks, 20, opened fire from a roof nearby, spraying a barrage of bullets into the crowd and towards the podium where Trump stood, killing someone in the audience and seriously injuring two more.

Incredible footage from the scene showed the former President clutch his ear and fall to the ground as chaos erupted around him.

A team of Secret Service agents then quickly bundled him to safety as snipers shot dead the shooter on site.

On Sunday evening, bandaged up and flying by private jet to the Republican convention in Milwaukee, Trump gave his first in-depth interview since the attempt on his life.

He told the New York Post: "I'm supposed to be dead.

"I rarely look away from the crowd. Had I not done that in that moment, well, we would not be talking today, would we?"

Trump had turned his head to his right during his rally speech just after 6pm on Saturday, when bullets from the shooter's AR-15 gun came only 130 metres away.

The bullet ripped through and tore a small piece of his ear clean off.

An already iconic photograph shows him standing up just moments later, punching the air as blood runs down his face.

Trump added: "The most incredible thing was that I happened to not only turn but to turn at the exact right time and in just the right amount."

The Republican favourite added: “By luck or by God, many people are saying it’s by God I’m still here."

Speaking of the photos of him saying "Fight, Fight, Fight!" as he punches the air, Trump said: “A lot of people say it’s the most iconic photo they’ve ever seen.

"They’re right and I didn’t die. Usually you have to die to have an iconic picture."

The ex-President praised his Secret Service agents who acted like "linebackers", tackling him to the ground so hard he showed his interviewer a bruise left on his arm.

As they dragged him to the safety of a car at the rally, the former President could be heard saying “Wait, I want to get my shoes".

He revealed in the interview that the force of his security knocking him to the deck had pulled them right off.

“The agents hit me so hard that my shoes fell off, and my shoes are tight,” Trump told the outlet with a smile.

He added: “The doctor at the hospital said he never saw anything like this, he called it a miracle.

“They did a fantastic job... “It’s surreal for all of us.”

Trump also revealed that he has scrapped a speech he planned to give at the Republican National Convention on Thursday.

“I had all prepared an extremely tough speech, really good, all about the corrupt, horrible administration,” “But I threw it away.” he told The Post

Trump said he is reworking his remarks "to try to unite the country," but said, "I don’t know if that’s possible. People are very divided.”