Trump speech details assassination attempt: ‘I’m not supposed to be here tonight’

Former
President

Donald Trump
recounted
the

assassination
attempt
that
nearly
killed
him
during
his

Republican
National
Convention
acceptance
speech
in
Milwaukee
on
Thursday
night.

“I’m
not
supposed
to
be
here
tonight,”
said
a
somber Trump,
with
a
bandage
covering
his
right
ear,
which
was
nicked
by
a
bullet.
“As
you
already
know,
the
assassin’s
bullet
came
within
a
quarter
of
an
inch
of
taking
my
life.”

“I
stand
before
you
by
the
grace
of
almighty
God,” Trump told
the
said
before
approaching
and
kissing
the
fire
chief’s
helmet
of
Corey
Comperatore,
who
was
killed
in
the

shooting
by
Thomas
Crooks
in
Butler
Township,
Pennsylvania,
during
a campaign rally
Saturday.

“As
Americans,
we
are
bound
together
by
a
single
fate
and
a
shared
destiny.
We
rise
together.
Or
we
fall
apart,”
said
Trump
on
the
eve
of
the
eighth
anniversary
of
his
first
nomination
for
the
presidency.

“Despite
such
a
heinous
attack,
we
unite
this
evening
more
determined
than
ever.
Our
resolve
is
unbroken,
and
our
purpose
is
unchanged
—
to
deliver
a
government
that
serves
the
American
people,”
Trump
said.

Trump
also
expressed
his
“gratitude
to
the
American
people
for
your
outpouring
of
love
and
support
following
the
assassination
attempt.”

Trump
told
the
convention
audience,
which
included
his
wife
Melania
and
his
children
and
their
partners,
that,
“I’ll
tell
you
what
happened,
and
you’ll
never
hear
it
from
me
a
second
time,
because
it’s
too
painful
to
tell.”

Trump
said
that
during
the
rally
in
Butler,
“I
began
speaking
very
happily
because
I
was
discussing
the
great
job
my
administration
did
on
immigration
at
the
southern
border.”

“Behind
me
and
to
the
right
was
a
large
screen
that
was
displaying
a
chart
of
border
crossings
under
my
leadership,”
he
said.
“In
order
to
see
the
chart,
I
started
to
turn
to
my
right,
and
was
ready
to
begin
a
further
turn,
which
I’m
lucky
I
didn’t,
when
I
heard
a
loud
whizzing
sound
and
felt
something
hit
me,
really
hard,
on
my
right
ear.”

“I
said
to
myself,
‘Wow,
what
was
that
—
it
can
only
be
a
bullet
—
and
moved
my
right
hand
to
my
ear,
brought
it
down,
and
my
hand
was
covered
with
blood,”
Trump
said.
“I
immediately
knew
it
was
very
serious,
that
we
were
under
attack,
and
in
one
movement,
proceeded
to
drop
to
the
ground.”

Trump
said
that
his
Secret
Service
protective
detail
rushed
the
stage
and
covered
him.

“There
was
blood
pouring
everywhere,
and
yet,
in
a
certain
way
I
felt
very
safe,
because
I
had
God
on
my
side,”
Trump
said.

“The
amazing
thing
is
that
prior
to
the
shot,
if
I
had
not
moved
my
head
at
the
very
last
instant,
the
assassin’s
bullet
would
have
perfectly
hit
its
mark,
and
I
would
not
be
with
you
tonight,”
he
said.

Trump
said
the
“most
incredible
aspect”
of
the
attack,
which
injured
two
other
men
in
addition
to
killing
Comperatore,
was
that
the
crowd
of
rally
attendees
did
not
stampede
to
escape
the
gunfire.

“In
fact,
many
of
them
bravely,
but
automatically,
stood
up
looking
for
where
the
sniper
would
be,
and
then
began
pointing
at
him,”
Trump
said.

“Nobody
ran,
and
by
not
stampeding,
many
lives
were
saved,”
he
said.
“But
that
isn’t
the
reason
they
didn’t
move
—
the
reason
is
that
they
knew
I
was
in
serious
trouble,
they
saw
all
of
the
blood,
and
thought
I
was
dead,
and
they
just
didn’t
want
to
leave
me,
and
you
can
see
that
love
written
all
over
their
faces.”

Later
in
the
speech,
Trump
said,
“I
am
here
tonight
to
lay
out
a
vision
for
the
whole
nation.”

“To
every
citizen,
whether
you
are
young
or
old,
man
or
woman,
Democrat,
Republican,
or
Independent,
black
or
white,
Asian
or
Hispanic,
I
extend
to
you
a
hand
of
loyalty
and
friendship.”

Throughout
the
speech,
Trump
did
not
once
mention
President

Joe
Biden
by
name
—
a
striking,
deliberate
omission. 

As
of
late
Thursday,
Biden
remained
the
presumptive
Democratic
nominee.
But
the
omission
of
Biden’s
name
underscored
the
very
real
possibility
that
Biden
might
not
be
on
the
ballot
in
November.

Biden
is
under
strong
pressure
by
leading
Democrats
and
rank-and-file
members
of
Congress
to
drop
out
of
the
election
contest
due
to
his
dismal
performance
against
Trump
in
a
debate
last
month,
and
increasing
concerns
that
he
is
less
mentally
sharp
than
even
several
years
ago.

Despite
not
mentioning
Biden’s
name,
Trump
blasted
the
president’s
performance
over
the
past
three-and-a-half
years,
particularly
when
it
came
to
Biden’s
border
policy.

“Less
than
four
years
ago,
I
handed
this
administration
the
strongest
border
in
American
history,”
Trump
said.
“The
current
administration
terminated
every
single
one
of
those
great
Trump
policies
that
I
put
in
place
to
seal
the
border.”

“The
greatest
invasion
in
history
is
taking
place
right
here
in
our
country
—
they
are
coming
in
from
every
corner
of
the
earth,
not
just
from
South
America,
but
from
Africa,
Asia,
and
the
Middle
East
—
they’re
coming
from
everywhere,
and
this
administration
does
nothing
to
stop
them,”
Trump
said.

He
said
the
United
States
has
“an
inflation
crisis
that
is
making
life
unaffordable,
ravaging
the
incomes
of
working
and
low-income
families.”

Trump
promised
the
RNC
that
if
elected
“the
United
States
will
be
respected
again.”

“No
nation
will
question
our
power.
No
enemy
will
doubt
our
might.”

Trump’s
call
for
national
unity
and
an
end
to
“discord
and
division”
come
nearly
four
years
after
he
refused
to
accept
the
results
of
the
2020
election,
which
he
lost
as
a
one-term
incumbent
to
President
Joe
Biden,
falsely
claiming
he
was
the
victim
of
widespread
ballot
fraud.

Trump,
who
has
demonized
Democrats
and
other
opponents
as
fascists
and
communists,
led
a
rally
on
Jan.
6,
2021,
where
he
urged
followers
to
march
on
the
U.S.
Capitol
to
oppose
the
certification
of
Biden’s
victory. 

Trump’s
followers
then
stormed
the
Capitol,
invading
the
halls
of
Congress,
injuring
more
than
100
police
officers
as
they
delayed
for
hours
the
confirmation
of
his
defeat
by
Biden.
Trump’s
vice
president
Mike
Pence,
who
presided
over
the
joint
session
of
Congress
that
day,
hid
from
the
mob
that
Trump
for
hours
refused
to
call
off.

In
his
speech
Thursday,
Trump
relied
on
an
apocalyptic
vision
of
the
world,
as
he
has
done
for
years.

“Here
is
an
international
crisis
the
likes
of
which
the
world
has
seldom
seen,”
Trump
said.
“War
is
now
raging
in
Europe
and
the
Middle
East,
a
growing
specter
of
conflict
hangs
over
Taiwan,
Korea,
the
Philippines,
and
all
of
Asia,
and
our
planet
is
teetering
on
the
edge
of
World
War
Three,
and
this
will
be
a
war
like
no
other.”

“It
is
time
for
a
change,”
Trump
said.
“We
simply
cannot
sustain
four
more
years
of
this
administration.”