A grateful, sometimes defiant Donald Trump told The Post on Sunday that he “should have been dead,” recalling the terrifying moment he was shot by an would-be assassin at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
The former president, in an interview aboard his private plane on his way to Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention, described the “very surreal experience” that nearly cost him his life.
“The doctors at the hospital said they’d never seen anything like it, it was a miracle,” said Trump, whose right ear was loosely covered by a large white bandage. Staff discouraged anyone from taking photos.
“I’m not supposed to be here. I’m supposed to be dead,” Trump said. “I’m supposed to be dead.”
He said he would have died had he not turned his head slightly to the right to read a chart about illegal immigration, when the bullet that would have been fatal to him tore off part of his ear and splattered blood on his forehead and cheek.
Trump said he wanted to continue addressing supporters after Secret Service agents escorted him off the stage, but the agents told him it was not safe and he would have to be taken to a hospital.
He marveled at how agents came flying at him like “linebackers” as soon as the shooting began, unbuttoning his white long-sleeved shirt to reveal a large bruise on his right arm.
He also solved the mystery surrounding his own shoes: In video of the shooting and its aftermath, he can be heard saying, “Wait, I want to go get my shoes,” as burly agents rush him off the stage for his safety.
“They hit me so hard that my shoes came off. They’re too tight,” he said with a smile in the interview.
He praised the heroic actions of Secret Service agents, who shot and killed the gunman on a roof about 130 yards from the stage where Trump was speaking.
“They killed him with one shot between the eyes,” the former president said, pointing to the bridge of his nose.
“They’ve done an amazing job,” he added. “It feels surreal for all of us.”
Trump also addressed the incredible photo of him raising his fist and yelling “Fight!” three times as agents tried to carry him off the stage and into an armored SUV.
“A lot of people are saying this is the most iconic photo they’ve ever seen,” Trump said. “They’re right and I’m not dead. To get an iconic photo, you usually have to die.”
He added: “I just wanted to keep talking and then I got shot.”
A doctor at a local hospital with a trauma center told him he had never seen anyone survive being shot with an AR-15, Trump recalled.
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“A lot of people say it’s either luck or God that I’m still here,” he said.
One man was shot dead and two others were wounded at the rally. When asked if he had considered attending the funeral of firefighter Corey Comperatore, who was killed while trying to protect his family from a killer’s gunfire, Trump replied, “Yes.”
Then he turned to his aide standing behind him and said, “Get the number. I’ll go to the hospital and call all the families.”
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Trump also praised the crowd of 55,000 who attended the rally for keeping calm.
“In a lot of places, especially at football games, you hear one gunshot and everybody runs. Here we heard multiple gunshots and everybody kept running.”
He added: “I love them. They’re just such great people.”
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who spent much of the flight speaking with Trump, said he found his optimism “incredible.”
“He feels like he has a new life,” Graham said.
There’s already some evidence of this: Trump said his experience with death had caused him to change his mind about the speech he will give on Thursday to accept his party’s nomination for the third consecutive time.
“I had prepared a really great speech, a very tough one, talking about this awful, corrupt government,” he said, then suddenly added, “But then I threw it away.”
He said he was preparing a new speech because he “want to unite our country.” He folded his arms and added, “But I don’t know if that’s possible. Our people are very divided.”
I asked if it was a matter of tone or if they were considering a change in policy.
He suggested policy differences were an obstacle: “Some people want open borders, some don’t. Some want men to be able to play on women’s sports teams, some don’t.”
Still, he said he believes success will unite the country, but he did not define what that success means.
He thanked President Biden for the call, said it was “nice” and that Biden was “very kind.”
He didn’t offer specifics but suggested the two sides could campaign more civilly going forward.
He also said he has “heard” that Biden will order the Justice Department to drop two charges against Trump. So far, there has been no public indication that this will happen.
The interview, which also featured Byron York of the Washington Examiner, lasted more than 30 minutes and ended as the plane landed in Milwaukee and sat on the runway.
At one point, over my shoulder, images of the shooting flashed on a large television screen that was tuned to CBS News and showing Trump.
As I watched him stare at the big screen, I could see he was riveted. He told me it was the first time he’d ever seen that two-minute segment.
He shook his head repeatedly, as if he realized he was nearing death.
As for the campaign, he is confident he is on a path to victory. When I mentioned that the betting odds had changed in his favor overnight, he said he knew the numbers, and that one oddsmaker put his chances of winning at 85 percent.
He asked York and me what they thought would matter more to voters in the long run: Biden’s gaffe in the first debate or the assassination attempt.
He did not offer his own opinion, but acknowledged that the debate over whether Biden should be the nominee remains divided within the Democratic Party and that if Saturday’s shooting resonates with voters, it will almost certainly further strengthen Biden’s favor.
All of this is true, but I believe he still needs to convince many who are not yet sold on his appeal. Those who are not listening to him are missing the fact that he has run a much more disciplined campaign than he did his first two times.
He has been particularly attentive to curbing the influence of the abortion issue, which Democrats see as one of their greatest strengths since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Trump responded by saying he would not support a bill to impose a nationwide ban and changed the Republican platform to reflect his belief that whatever restrictions state voters decide on, there should be exceptions for rape, incest and the mother’s health.
Trump was wise these past two weeks as Democrats lambasted Biden after the debate disaster. Instead of stepping in, he wisely stayed on the sidelines, following the old adage: “When someone is trying to kill themselves, get out of the way.”
But the polls remain close, with some surveys actually showing Biden with a slight lead nationally.
In a strange way, Trump’s goal of delivering a speech calling for unity on Thursday is all the more important because the assassination attempt has many voters focused on how it will affect him.
There could be no better opportunity to show them that he wants to be part of the solution and help end the terrible polarization that threatens to destroy our country.
Of course, a single speech won’t work miracles, but if he follows through on his instincts to make this the start of a new, more civil and more enlightened campaign, he will accomplish two things.
It would help his bid to retake the White House and also put a great but troubled America back on track to a bright future.
Mr. President, this is probably why you were saved.
keep it up.
