Trump describes 'surreal' experience of surviving assassination attempt

“Surviving the assassination attack was a ‘surreal’ experience. I almost died,” said former U.S. President Donald Trump in an interview with the New York Post on Sunday (local time), recounting the assassination attempt he experienced the previous day. The New York Post interviewed Trump aboard his private plane as he headed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for the Republican National Convention (July 15-18). This was Trump's first media interview since the assassination attempt.

Pointing to the white bandage covering his right ear, Trump remarked, “The doctor at the hospital said he had never seen anything like this—a bullet penetrated the upper part of the ear—and called it a miracle.” He added, “I wanted to continue talking to my supporters after Secret Service agents pulled me off the stage, but the agents told me it was not safe and that I needed to go to the hospital.”

Trump praised the Secret Service agents for their swift action, calling it heroic. “The agents killed the gunman with one shot precisely between the eyes,” he said. “They did a fantastic job.”

He also mentioned a widely circulated photo showing him punching the air and shouting “Let’s fight” three times while bleeding and being dragged away by security guards. “Usually, you have to die to be the subject of an iconic photo, but I’m not dead,” Trump said. “Many people say that by the grace of God, I’m still here.”

Trump explained how the incident had led him to revise his speech for the convention. “I had prepared a powerful and great speech against the corrupt and terrible Biden administration, but I scrapped it,” he said. “I am preparing a new speech to unify our country.”


Woo-Sun Lim imsun@donga.com