Former President Donald Trump on Saturday recalled the moment he, former first lady Melania Trump, and their 18-year-old son, Barron, learned of the assassination attempt.
Suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks shot the former president just above the ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, before a sniper shot and killed Trump. Trump told Fox News' Mark Levin that First Lady Melania Trump was watching the incident live on television and that Barron was taking tennis lessons.
“[Melania] “I was watching it on TV, and Barron was outside having a tennis lesson. He's a good tennis player, and he was outside playing tennis, and somebody came running up and said, 'Barron, Barron, your dad's been shot,'” Trump said. “And he went. He loves his dad, he's a good kid, a good student, a good athlete. And he came running up and said, 'Mom, what's going on?' And my mom couldn't believe it. My mom actually saw it live. Can you imagine? And I stood up and let everybody know that I was OK.”
Trump recalls the moment Melania and his son Barron found out about the assassination attempt pic.twitter.com/ZILkiUj85I
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 2, 2024
Trump said turning his head to look at a graph of migrant numbers at a rally saved his life and called it a “miracle” that he had survived.
“The great thing about the chart is that I rarely ever use it in a speech. I just say, 'Get the chart out,' and I turned around,” the former president said. “It doesn't matter if I turned around a little less, or a little less, or more, or less. It still ends up happening.”
Corey Comperatore, 50, died while shielding his daughters, and protesters James Copenhaver and David Duch were seriously injured. (Related: President Trump issues tribute to former fire chief killed in rally attack)
At least five Secret Service agents were placed on administrative leave on Aug. 23, about six weeks after the assassination attempt. Crooks was reportedly seen on the roof of the American Glass Research building, 130 years away from the state where the rally took place, and footage from July 31 showed a figure walking across the roof about three minutes before the shooting.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned on July 23 after the House Oversight Committee concluded that she “failed to answer” for “stunning operational failures” during testimony at a July 22 hearing.
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