DONALD TRUMP HAS told the New York Post he was “supposed to be dead” after surviving an assassination attempt which he described as a “very surreal experience.”
“I’m not supposed to be here, I’m supposed to be dead,” Trump told the newspaper in an interview aboard his plane en route to Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention, where he is set to be confirmed as the party’s presidential candidate.
It was a “very surreal experience” he said with a white bandage covering his right ear, the paper said.
In a different interview, Trump said he has rewritten his speech for the convention to focus on uniting the country in the wake of an assassination attempt on the former US president.
Trump arrived in Milwaukee for the convention yesterday evening, just a day after a gunman opened fire at a campaign rally in Butler.
In his first interview since the incident, Trump told US outlet The Washington Examiner the speech he is set to make on Thursday will be “a lot different than it would’ve been two days ago”.
“The speech I was going to give on Thursday was going to be a humdinger,” he told the paper.
“Had this not happened, this would’ve been one of the most incredible speeches. Honestly, it’s going to be a whole different speech now.
“It is a chance to bring the country together. I was given that chance.”
Writing on Truth Social yesterday, Trump thanked well-wishers and said “it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening”.
“We will fear not, but instead remain resilient in our faith and defiant in the face of wickedness.”
He added: “Our love goes out to the other victims and their families.
“We pray for the recovery of those who were wounded, and hold in our hearts the memory of the citizen who was so horribly killed.
“In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand united, and show our true character as Americans, remaining strong and determined, and not allowing evil to win.
“I truly love our country, and love you all, and look forward to speaking to our great nation this week from Wisconsin. DJT”
His wife, former US first lady Melania Trump, said: “When I watched that violent bullet strike my husband, Donald, I realised my life, and Barron’s (the couple’s son) life, were on the brink of devastating change.”
Trump said she was “grateful to the brave secret service agents and law enforcement officials who risked their own lives”.
US President Joe Biden, addressing his country yesterday evening, said he has directed the head of the Secret Service to review all security measures for the Republican National Convention.
“There is no place in America for this kind of violence — for any violence. Ever. Period. No exception. We can’t allow this violence to be normalised,” he said.
“Here in America we need to get out of our silos, where we only listen to those with whom we agree, where misinformation is rampant, where foreign actors fan the flames of our division to shape the outcomes consistent with their interests, not ours.”
With reporting from AFP and Press Association
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