Grateful, defiant Trump tells how he survived a ‘surreal’ assassination attempt at a rally: ‘I should be dead’

A grateful and sometimes defiant Donald Trump told the Washington Post on Sunday that he “should be dead” as he recalled the horrific moment a would-be assassin shot him at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

The former president recounted the “very surreal experience” that nearly ended his life during an interview aboard his private plane en route to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

“The doctor at the hospital said he had never seen anything like it, he called it a miracle,” said Trump, wearing a loose, large white bandage over his right ear. His staff insisted that no photos be taken.

“I shouldn’t be here. I should be dead,” Trump said. “I should be dead.”

He said that would have been the case had he not turned his head slightly to the right to read a chart about illegal immigrants. At that moment, the fatal shot instead tore off a small piece of his ear and sprayed blood onto his forehead and cheek.

Trump said that as Secret Service agents escorted him off the stage, he still wanted to speak to his supporters, but the agents told him it was not safe and they would have to take him to a hospital.

He marveled at how the agents came flying in like “linebackers” as soon as the shooting started, and he unbuttoned his white long-sleeved shirt to reveal a large bruise on his right forearm.

He also cleared up a mystery about his shoes. In the video of the shooting and aftermath, he can be heard saying, “Wait, I want to get my shoes,” as the burly agents tried to force him off the stage for safety reasons.

In the interview, he explained: “The agents beat me so hard that my shoes fell off, and my shoes are tight,” he said with a smile.

He praised Secret Service members for their heroic actions and praised them for shooting down the gunman, who was sitting on a rooftop about 400 feet from the stage where Trump was speaking.

“They took him out with a shot right between the eyes,” the former president said, pointing to the bridge of his nose.

“They’ve done a fantastic job,” he added. “It’s unreal for all of us.”

Trump also addressed the incredible photo of him raising his fist and saying “fight” three times as agents try to drag him off the stage and into an armored SUV.

“A lot of people say it’s the most iconic photo they’ve ever seen,” Trump said. “They’re right, and I didn’t die. Usually you have to die to have an iconic picture.”

He added: “I just wanted to keep talking, but I just got shot.”

The doctor at the local hospital, which includes a trauma center, told him he had never seen anyone survive a hit with an AR-15, Trump recalled.

“By luck or by God. Many people say I’m still here because of God,” he said.

One man at the rally was shot and two others were wounded. When asked if he had considered attending the funeral of Corey Comperatore, the firefighter who died protecting his family from the killer’s gunfire, Trump said yes.

Then he turned to the helpers standing behind him and said, “Get the numbers. I want to go to the hospital and call all the families.”

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Trump also praised the crowd at the rally, which he estimated to be 55,000 people, for their calm.

“In many places, especially at football matches, you hear a single shot and everyone starts running. Here there were many shots and they stayed.”

He added: “I love them. They are such great people.”

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina spent most of the flight talking to Trump and found his optimism “incredible.”

“He feels like he has started a new life,” Graham said.

There is already some evidence of this: Trump said that his near-death experience caused him to change his mind about the speech he will give on Thursday to accept his party’s nomination for the third time in a row.

“I had prepared an extremely tough speech, really good, all about the corrupt, terrible government,” he said, suddenly adding: “But I threw it away.”

He said he was working on a new speech because “I want to try to unite our country.” With his arms folded, he added: “But I don’t know if that’s possible. People are very divided.”

Was it a question of tone, I asked, or did he have political changes in mind?

The political differences are the stumbling block, he said. “Some want open borders, others don’t. Some want men to be allowed to play on women’s sports teams, others don’t.”

Nevertheless, he is still convinced that success will unite the country, but he did not explain in more detail what this success would mean.

He said he was pleased to receive the call from President Biden, calling it “fine” and saying Biden was “very nice.”

Without giving any further details, however, he said that the election campaign between them could be more civilized from now on.

He also said that “we are hearing” that Biden will order the Justice Department to drop the two charges against Trump. So far, there are no public signs of that.

The interview, which also included Byron York of the Washington Examiner, lasted more than 30 minutes and ended as the plane was on the tarmac after landing in Milwaukee.

At one point, a video of the shooting appeared on a large television screen over my shoulder. The screen was tuned to CBS News and focused on Trump.

As I watched him staring at the big screen, I could see that he was riveted and he said that this was the first time he had seen the two-minute segment.

More than once he shook his head as if troubled by how close he was to death.

As for the campaign, he is confident he is on course to win. When I mentioned how the betting odds had shifted in his favour overnight, he knew the numbers and said one bookmaker had given him an 85 per cent chance of winning.

He asked York and me what we thought would be more important to voters in the long run: Biden’s collapse in their first debate or the assassination.

He did not express his own opinion, but acknowledged that the debate over Biden’s candidacy remains divisive among Democrats and that Saturday’s shooting will almost certainly deepen the swing in his favor once voters process it.

That is all true, but I think he still has a lot of people to convince who are not up to his appeal. Those who have ignored him have overlooked the fact that he has run a much more disciplined campaign than in his first two.

He has been particularly cautious in his attempts to limit the power of the abortion issue, which Democrats have viewed as one of their greatest assets since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Trump responded by saying he would not support legislation that would impose a nationwide ban and amended the Republican platform to reflect his belief that, regardless of what restrictions voters in each state choose, there should be exceptions for rape, incest and the health of the mother.

Trump also played it smart over the past two weeks, as Democrats attacked Biden after the debate disaster. Rather than intervene himself, he wisely stayed on the sidelines and followed the old adage: If your opponent is committing suicide, get out of his way.

And yet the poll results remain stubbornly close, with some polls even giving Biden a small lead nationally.

Oddly enough, Trump’s goal of delivering a unifying speech on Thursday is all the more important, as the assassination will have many voters watching closely to see what impact it had on him.

He will not get a better chance to show them that he wants to be part of the solution and help end the terrible polarization that threatens to destroy our nation.

Of course, a single speech cannot work a miracle, but if he follows his instinct and makes this the start of a new, more civilised and intelligent campaign, he will achieve a double whammy.

This would help him in his bid to reclaim the White House and also help put our great but troubled America back on the path to a glorious future.

Perhaps that is why you were spared, Mr President.

Do it.