In a newly aired interview, Donald Trump revealed that President Biden told him shortly after the Republican presidential candidate survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
“He said, ‘Lucky you made a right turn,'” Trump, 78, told Fox News host Jesse Watters about his call with the 81-year-old president.
On July 13, during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks opened fire, nearly killing Trump after he turned his head to look at a graph on a screen.
The former president described his conversation with Biden as a “great conversation.”
In the interview, recorded Saturday and aired Monday, Trump also revealed that he refused orders to be carried off the stage on a stretcher after a sniper’s bullet grazed his ear.
“They tried to put me on a stretcher,” Trump said. “They had a stretcher, and they tried to put me on the stretcher, and I said, ‘I’m not going to get on a stretcher.'”
Trump said the Secret Service agents who swarmed over him after shots rang out initially thought he had been shot in the stomach.
The 45th president said he “just felt it was my ear” when asked about his refusal to be put on a stretcher, but acknowledged that there was “a lot of blood” which may have startled investigators.
Trump said his refusal led to “a little altercation” during which the agents “just lay on top of me.”
“I said, ‘I’m OK, I’m OK. I’m going to get up. I want to get up. I’m not going to be carried out on a stretcher,'” he said.
Regarding his current condition, the Republican candidate said his right ear is in “good condition” and “getting a lot better.”
“I’ve got to bandage it, but it was pretty bad,” Trump said of his wound.
During his conversation with Watters, Trump also suggested an investigation should be launched to determine whether the White House tried to cover up Biden’s physical and mental decline.
“I think somebody needs to look into this,” Trump argued, “there were people who lied to the American people. So they should look into his doctors, because his doctors keep giving him glowing reports.”
“I’m not a doctor, [Biden] “The other day he couldn’t make it up the kiddie stairs to board Air Force One,” the former president added.
“His doctor, and by the way, I know his doctor well, his doctor says he’s in good health. He’s not in good health. I don’t think he’s in good health,” Trump added, an apparent reference to White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor.
The White House candidate also said he met with beleaguered Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle in the wake of the assassination attempt.
“Actually, she came to see me,” Trump said.
“I thought she was a very nice person, but someone should have made sure there was nobody on that roof,” the former president added.
Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance, who sat next to Trump during the interview, told Watters that he was playing mini-golf with his children and hoping to get a call from the former president about the vice presidential post when he heard about the shooting at the rally.
“I told my kids, ‘We have to get out of here. The president’s been shot.'” Of course, at that point we didn’t know if the president was OK. “My son asked me, ‘Dad, is the president your friend or the president you hate?’ And I said, ‘My friend is the president.’ And he said, ‘Okay, I’m sorry.’ It was a sweet moment,” Vance said.
“We’re all just grateful that the president is safe,” the Republican senator from Ohio added, noting that it was a “testament to the movement” how “calmly” the rally attendees reacted to the shooting and refrained from raging during the chaotic moment.
