Milwaukee, July 15: Donald Trump has said he is “supposed to be dead” after the assassination attempt on him at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, calling the incident a “surreal experience.”
In one of his first interviews since the incident, the 78-year-old former president told conservative US media that he felt that he had been saved “by luck or by God”.
“I’m not supposed to be here, I’m supposed to be dead,” the former US president said, speaking to the New York Post while en route to Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention starting on Monday which will nominate him as the party’s candidate for the November 5 presidential election.
“The most incredible thing was that I happened to not only turn [my head] but to turn at the exact right time and in just the right amount,” he said, adding that the bullet that grazed his ear could have easily killed him.
“I’m supposed to be dead, I’m not supposed to be here,” he said. He called the entire incident a “surreal experience.” A spectator was killed in the attack, while two other people were seriously injured. The 20-year-old gunman, who also died, has been named as Thomas Matthew Crooks.
Trump wore a white bandage that covered his right ear but his aides did not allow any photographs to be taken, said the Post.
“The doctor at the hospital said he never saw anything like this, he called it a miracle,” Trump added.
“By luck or by God, many people are saying it’s by God I’m still here.” Trump also addressed the photos of him raising his fist and saying “Fight!” as he had blood on his face.
Judge dismisses Trump classified documents case
The federal judge presiding over the classified documents case of former President Donald Trump in Florida dismissed the prosecution on Monday, siding with defence lawyers who said the special counsel who filed the charges was illegally appointed.
The decision by US District Judge Aileen Cannon brings a stunning and abrupt conclusion to a criminal case that at the time it was filed was widely regarded as the most perilous of all the legal threats that the Republican former president confronted.
Trump faced dozens of felony counts accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and obstructing FBI efforts to get them back.
Defence lawyers filed multiple challenges to the case, including a legally technical one that asserted that special counsel Jack Smith had been illegally appointed under the Constitution’s Appointments Clause, which governs the appointment of certain government positions, and that his office was improperly funded by the Justice Department.
Gunman acted alone: FBI
The gunman who shot at former president Donald Trump during an election rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday appears to have acted alone, according to the FBI, which is investigating it as a potential “domestic terrorism” act. The gunman has been identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks (20).
“At this point in the investigation, it appears that he was a lone actor, but we still have more investigation to go,” said Robert Wells, the executive assistant director of the FBI’s National Security Branch. The FBI, he said, is investigating this as an assassination attempt,” and also as a “potential domestic terrorism act.” The counterterrorism division and criminal divisions are working jointly together to determine the motive, he added.
The FBI is leading the investigation into the assassination attempt of Trump at an election rally in Pennsylvania. (AP)
