Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is helped off stage by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Thursday dramatically recounted his brush with death just days before, saying he survived “only by the grace of almighty God.”
“I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” Trump told the Republican convention in Milwaukee in his first speech since he was wounded by a 20-year-old gunman who rained bullets on a rally in Pennsylvania over the weekend.
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Trump described taking the stage before a cheering crowd on Saturday as music played and starting to speak about his administration’s actions on immigration and the southern border.
There was a screen behind him displaying a chart on border crossings when he was in office — with numbers that were “absolutely amazing” — and he turned his head to see it.
“I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me really, really hard on my right ear. I said to myself, ‘Wow, what was that? It can only be a bullet,'” said Trump.
He said he moved his hand to his ear and brought it down, and it “was covered with blood, just absolutely blood all over the place. I immediately knew it was very serious, that we were under attack.”
‘Fight, fight, fight!’
Secret Service agents rushed to the stage as bullets flew, pouncing on top of him to keep him safe, he recalled.
“The amazing thing is that prior to the shot, if I had not moved my head at that very last instant, the assassin’s bullet would have perfectly hit its mark, and I would not be here tonight. We would not be together,” Trump said.
He praised the actions of his supporters at the rally, saying they turned to look for the sniper instead of breaking into a stampede.
“They knew I was in trouble. They didn’t want to leave me. And you can see that love written all over their faces. Incredible people,” Trump said.
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“I wanted to do something to let him know I was okay. I raised my right arm, looked at the thousands and thousands of people that were breathlessly waiting, and started shouting, ‘Fight, fight, fight!'”
“For the rest of my life, I will be grateful for the love shown by that giant audience of patriots that stood bravely on that fateful evening.”
Trump insisted he would never recount the moment when he nearly lost his life again.
“So many people have asked me, ‘What happened? Tell us what happened, please,” he said.
But “you’ll never hear it from me a second time, because it’s actually too painful to tell.”