© Photo: Evan Vucci / AP
The former US president has said he wants to unite the country after surviving an assassination attempt
Donald Trump has said he is lucky to be alive after being targeted by a shooter during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
The suspected assailant, 20-year-old local Thomas Matthew Crooks, fired at least five rounds from an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle in the direction of the former US president, with one bullet grazing his right ear. A Trump supporter was killed and two others severely wounded in the attack, and Crooks was shot dead on site by Secret Service officers.
"I am not supposed to be here, I am supposed to be dead," Trump said in an interview with the New York Post on Sunday. The 78-year-old spoke to reporters on board his private jet, heading to Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention, where he is expected to be selected as the party's presidential nominee for November 5 election.
The tycoon-turned-politician said a doctor told him it was a "miracle" that he survived.
"By luck or by God, many people are saying it's by God I'm still here," he added.
According to Trump, he avoided a fatal wound only because when the first shot was fired he turned his head slightly to the right to read a chart on illegal immigrants in the US.
The Secret Service "did a fantastic job" by swiftly neutralizing the attacker, he said. "They took him out with one shot right between the eyes."
Trump said he wanted to continue the rally after the attack, but agents told him it was not safe and that he needed to go to hospital. "I just wanted to keep speaking, but I just got shot," he recalled. As he was led off stage, the former president was pictured raising his fist and shouting: "Fight! Fight! Fight!"
"A lot of people say it is the most iconic photo they've ever seen. They are right and I did not die.
Usually you have to die to have an iconic picture," he insisted.
Trump said he appreciated the call from US President Joe Biden following the attack. It was a "fine" gesture and Biden was "very nice" during the conversation, he stressed.
The former president said he had prepared "an extremely tough speech... all about the corrupt, horrible administration" for the event in Milwaukee, but "threw it away" after the assassination attempt. "I want to try to unite our country... but I do not know if that is possible. People are very divided."
Comment: It is interesting to look at the ancient concept of the Mandate of Heaven in connection with the possible divine intervention which happened less than two days ago. From
this article from 10 years ago:
In times of relative calm, it is easier for rulers to have the trust and a mandate from the people, but when things get tough with economic downturns, increased natural disasters and wars, the people become increasingly stressed and look to their rulers to fix things. They are, after all, the ones with the mandate to rule, which was originally a 'divine' mandate to rule and intercede with 'the gods' on behalf of humanity.
If the people were to realize that their vaunted leaders are not really in control of anything, revolts would break out and the ruling elite would be deposed. This is why we see such desperate efforts right now by that elite to cling to power. This civilization is going down the tubes real fast and it is becoming increasingly obvious that not only are the elite powerless, they are also deliberately hoarding wealth for themselves at the expense of those they were entrusted to protect and look after.
If Trump had died, then this week Nicky Haley would have been nominated to be the official candidate and would likely have gone ahead to win the November election with the blessings of the Deep State and the Military Industrial Complex. It could explain why Haley stayed in the primary campaign long after everybody else had bowed out and with her having zero chance as Trump was winning hands down everywhere, even in her own home state.
A look at that other timeline which could have been and which we narrowly escaped:
Not only did Donald Trump dodge a bullet, we all collectively did, though the future is still very much uncertain.
Comment: It is interesting to look at the ancient concept of the Mandate of Heaven in connection with the possible divine intervention which happened less than two days ago. From this article from 10 years ago: If Trump had died, then this week Nicky Haley would have been nominated to be the official candidate and would likely have gone ahead to win the November election with the blessings of the Deep State and the Military Industrial Complex. It could explain why Haley stayed in the primary campaign long after everybody else had bowed out and with her having zero chance as Trump was winning hands down everywhere, even in her own home state.
A look at that other timeline which could have been and which we narrowly escaped: