Widow of man killed at rally says she spoke to Trump

Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Butler Farm Show Inc. in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024. Donald Trump was shot in the ear by a gunman at a campaign rally on Saturday in an apparent assassination attempt. It was a chaotic and shocking incident that will stoke fears of instability ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election. (Photo by REBECCA DROKE/AFP via Getty Images)

The widow of the man killed at former President Trump’s rally on Saturday said she had spoken to the former president.

Helen Comperatore, who lost her husband Corey Comperatore, said in a social media post that she had an argument with Trump after the assassination.

“He was very kind and said he would continue to call me in the days and weeks to come,” she wrote, according to the New York Times.

Comperatore said the former president said her husband of 50 years “left this world a hero and God welcomed him.”

Comperatore’s sister, Kelly Comperatore Meeder, said the family spoke with other Trump campaign officials on Monday evening and declined an invitation to speak with President Biden.

Comperatore told the New York Post that she did not want to speak to Biden because her husband is a staunch Republican and would not have wanted that.

Corey Comperatore was a volunteer firefighter and father of two. His wife said he shouted “Get down!” when shots rang out at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday and shielded his family from bullets with his body.

Comperatore said she bears “no grudge against Joe Biden” because “he did nothing bad to my husband. That was what a despicable 20-year-old boy did.”

The suspect is 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. He is said to have climbed a building next to Trump’s speech and fired shots. He was killed by the Secret Service.

A bullet grazed the former president’s ear. Two other participants were seriously injured, the Secret Service said.

Biden and members of Congress called for an investigation into the Secret Service’s security protocols, its apparent failures and the reasons why the man was able to get onto the roof and shoot.

According to a GoFundMe campaign, more than $5 million had been raised for the shooting victims as of Tuesday evening. Senator Rick Scott (R-Florida), one of the wealthiest senators, also donated to the fund.