Former president Donald Trump took to the stage on the final day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Thursday (July 18), where he opened up about last Saturday’s (July 13) assassination attempt.
Introduced by UFC president Dana White, Trump made his way to the stage and recounted details of the attack, which saw him shot in the ear while giving a speech at a Pennsylvania rally last Saturday. The Republican presidential candidate, who wore a bandage over his right ear, told the crowd in Milwaukee this would be the only time he’d talk about the events.
“I’ll tell you what happened, and you’ll never hear it from me a second time because it’s too painful,” Trump said as he recalled details from this past Saturday.
The former Apprentice host said he was talking about immigration at the southern border when he turned his head to the right to see a screen displaying a chart. “I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me really, really hard on my right ear,” he explained.
“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,” he added. “I immediately knew it was very serious, that we were under attack, and in one movement, proceeded to drop to the ground.”
Images of the assassination attempt and a bloody Trump were shown on the screen behind the former president, who continued to detail what happened.
“Bullets continued to fly as very brave Secret Service agents rushed to the stage and pounced on top of me for protection,” he stated. “There was blood pouring everywhere, and yet, in a certain way, I felt very safe because I had God on my side. I stand before you [tonight] only by the grace of Almighty God.”
Trump added, “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 here tonight.”
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Explaining why he got back up and raised his first, Trump said the rally crowd “thought I was dead,” so he “wanted to do something to let them know I was okay. So, I raised my right arm and started shouting, ‘Fight! Fight! Fight!’ Once my clenched fist went up, high into the air, the crowd realized I was okay and roared with pride for our country like no crowd I have ever heard before.”
After detailing the experience, Trump paid tribute to firefighter Corey Comperatore, who was killed in the shooting. “What a fine man he was,” Trump said as he kissed Comperatore’s firefighter helmet. He also mentioned the two other attendees who were injured during the attack.
You can watch Trump’s full 90-minute speech above.
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