Former President Donald Trump‘s says his life was spared during an assassination attempt at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania by simply moving his head at a pivotal moment.
Trump said in an interview with the Washington Examiner that he moved at “the exact right time.”
“The most incredible thing was that I happened to not only turn but to turn at the exact right time and in just the right amount,” Trump said. “If I only half-turn, it hits the back of the brain. The other way goes right through [the skull]. And because the sign was high, I’m looking up. The chances of my making a perfect turn are probably one tenth of one percent, so I’m not supposed to be here.”
Minutes into Trump’s speech at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, loud popping noises were heard as people huddled for safety. Trump appeared to clutch his ear and fell to the ground. When he stood back up, surrounded by Secret Service agents, as blood was seen running down his face.
“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,” the former president said in a post on Truth Social. “Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening.”
In the Washington Examiner interview, Trump said he had to be “at the exact right angle” since the bullet was “an eighth of an inch away.”
“That I would turn exactly at that second, where he [the gunman] wouldn’t stop the shot is pretty amazing,” Trump said. “Pretty amazing. I’m really not supposed to be here.”
Trump told former White House physician Dr. Ronny Jackson that a small head tilt to face his presentation saved his life during the attack.
I spoke to OUR President last night. He is doing well and as STRONG AS EVER. Thank God he is ok! If you ever wondered, your questions have been answered last night, he IS the WARRIOR this country MUST have to survive. God Bless Trump and God bless the USA!!
— Ronny Jackson (@RonnyJacksonTX) July 14, 2024
“That chart that I was going over saved my life,” Trump told Jackson by phone a few hours after the assassination attempt, according to The New York Times. “He said, ‘If I hadn’t pointed at that chart and turned my head to look at it, that bullet would have hit me right in the head.’”
Jackson shared to X, formerly Twitter, that his nephew was also injured at the rally.
“Thankfully his injury was not serious and he is doing well. My family was sitting in the front, near where the President was speaking,” Jackson posted. “They heard shots ringing out — my nephew then realized he had blood on his neck and something had grazed and cut his neck.”
Images of the bullet’s potential trajectory have infiltrated social media.
A last-minute millisecond head tilt likely saved Donald Trump’s life.
If Trump hadn’t moved his head, the bullet would’ve likely pierced the back of his head. pic.twitter.com/sRLBEH8gxp
— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) July 14, 2024
A photo captured by New York Times photographer Doug Mills seems to show the bullet “flying in the air” beside former President Donald Trump’s head.
The image shows a gray line just above Trump’s left shoulder. Another photo taken by Mills shows Trump placing his hand on his ear, while a third image shows blood on his hand.
Trump went to Bethel Memorial Hospital for his injuries. State trooper vehicles were seen blocking the entrance as supporters stood outside of the hospital to express their well wishes. One woman, Ash Nix, however, held a sign reading “Wishing Trump a long terrible recovery!”
“The only sad thing is, if something were to happen to him, he becomes a martyr. And we don’t want that,” Nix told local station WTAJ-TV.
The former president was released from the hospital later that night, and he is still planning to attend the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee next week, his campaign and the RNC said Saturday night.
The gunman has been identified by authorities as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
Crooks allegedly killed Corey Comperatore of Sarver, Pennsylvania, a 50-year-old volunteer firefighter. The two surviving victims — 57-year-old David Dutch, of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, and 74-year-old James Copenhaver, of Moon Township, Pennsylvania have been upgraded to stable condition according to authorities.
Over $3.36 million has been raised within 24 hours of the shooting for victims and their families from two separate GoFundMe campaigns.
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