Credits: Rebecca Droke, Agence France-Presse
Former US President Donald Trump, en route to the Republican National Convention, told the New York Post on Sunday that he was “supposed to be dead” after surviving an assassination attempt. The harrowing experience, which he described as “very surreal,” left the 78-year-old with a bandage covering his right ear.
“I’m not supposed to be here, I’m supposed to be dead,” Trump recounted during the interview aboard his plane. He explained that a slight tilt of his head to read a chart on illegal immigrants likely saved his life. “By luck or by God, many people are saying it’s by God I’m still here,” he said.
The former president praised the quick actions of his Secret Service agents, who neutralized the attacker with a single shot. “They took him out with one shot right between the eyes,” Trump stated. “They did a fantastic job. It’s surreal for all of us.”
The assassination attempt, which occurred during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, resulted in the death of a bystander and left two others wounded. The image of Trump raising a defiant fist as Secret Service agents escorted him away has made front pages worldwide and gone viral on social media.
“A lot of people say it’s the most iconic photo they’ve ever seen,” Trump told the Post. “They’re right and I didn’t die. Usually you have to die to have an iconic picture.”
In the aftermath of the attempt on his life, Trump revealed that he is rewriting his speech for the Republican convention. Initially, he had planned to deliver a tough critique of President Joe Biden’s administration. “But I threw it away” for a speech aimed at uniting the country, Trump said, though he expressed doubts about the feasibility of bridging the nation’s deep divisions. “People are very divided,” he added.
The attack has sparked a flurry of conspiracy theories on social media, with some claiming it was staged by Trump for political sympathy, while others suggested it was an inside job orchestrated by the Biden administration. Photos of two individuals, falsely identified as the shooter, circulated widely online before authorities released the name of the actual suspect.
Prominent Democratic strategist Dmitri Mehlhorn had to apologize after suggesting the assassination attempt was staged. “No one is immune to conspiracy theories,” said Anthony Mansuy, an expert in US conspiracies. “The ease of access to social media can galvanize individuals into believing that we’re all participating in the collective investigation,” he added.
As Trump prepares to be confirmed as the Republican presidential candidate at the convention, the shocking events of the past days have intensified an already polarized political landscape ahead of the November election.