MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Several Republican National Convention attendees interviewed by Breitbart News in downtown Milwaukee believe Saturday’s assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump was an act of divine providence.
Trump, the front-runner in the presidential election, was nearly killed on national television at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks fired a bullet that struck Trump in the ear, narrowly missing his brain.
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A very strong theme in the discussion among Milwaukee Republicans was that God had protected Trump, with one woman describing him as “an instrument of God.”
“We saw the hand of God protecting him,” Detroit pastor Lorenzo Sewell told Breitbart News on Tuesday.
“The Bible is very clear that prayer is prevention, prayer is preemptive action. We prayed for him a month ago and we prayed for him last week. And what did we see? We saw the hand of God protecting him. And at the end of the day, whether you like Trump or not, he won because of those prayers,” Sewell said.
As Detroit Free Press As noted, Sewell is the senior pastor of 180 Church in Detroit, which hosted a roundtable discussion with President Trump in June.
Sewell also “absolutely” believes Americans are turning to faith.
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“That’s why I started the podcast. Politics and the pulpit, “Because at the end of the day, according to Ecclesiastes, God has planted in people’s hearts a longing and a desire to know Him,” he said. “So there’s a God-shaped hole in people’s hearts, and even if they’re trying to get it through alcohol or drugs or women or men, it’s ultimately going to fail. It’s a cheap imitation. People are looking for Jesus.”
Gary Loeffler, a Republican and former Iowa congressional candidate and alternate delegate, said there was “100 percent” divine intervention on Saturday.
“I’m a hunter. I know the 130-yard shot. Deer hunting is an easy shot,” he said.
“The perpetrator had a stable location, an unobstructed view, a clear line of sight, and he was prepared,” Loeffler said. “So, my belief is that he had scouted the location in advance. He knew where he wanted to go. He knew what he wanted to do. He knew where Trump was.”
The scene outside the Panther Arena in Milwaukee. Breitbart News interviewed several subjects for this story. (Nick Gilbertson/Breitbart News)
Asked if he thought people were turning to God, Loeffler said faith “is definitely on the rise,” and he also showed Breitbart News a 1957 Ford 860 tractor outside Panther Arena, which has been restored and has “John 3:16” inscribed just above the steering wheel.
Gary Loeffler’s tractor has “John 3:16” inscribed on it. (Nick Gilbertson/Breitbart News)
“We are out today preaching the gospel,” he said.
Gary Loeffler’s tractor. (Nick Gilbertson/Breitbart News)
Jennifer Breitenbach, a North Carolina resident and former teacher whose husband is a convention delegate and a guest of the crowd, told Breitbart News on Monday night that she believes there are larger forces at work to protect Trump on Saturday.
“When I saw it on TV, from the beginning I thought, ‘He just turned his head at the last moment and probably avoided being stabbed in the temple.’ I mean, that’s what it looked like to me, so I thought, ‘Thank God he was spared,'” she recalled. “And I think he’s God’s instrument for rebuilding this country. He’s been attacked on every level. Law enforcement is unbelievable. It’s satanic, in my humble opinion. You can’t keep attacking a guy like that.”
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“I love President Trump because he didn’t have to do this. He didn’t get a salary when he was in the White House. He could have retired and gone to Mar-a-Lago and played golf,” she said.
“Evil has a plan, but God’s plan is bigger,” Tennessee state representative and Maura County Republican Party vice chair Lona Hines told Breitbart News about the attempted assassination of the 45th president.
“If he had just changed his mind for a second, we would have had a completely different plan. The fact that he survived and that evil was thwarted is proof that God has a plan and a purpose for him and for us, and that He is there to serve us,” she said.
“Jesus knelt before God the Father, and when we knelt before God and pray to God, Jesus listens and hears our prayers. So I think this is a miracle. Only God can do that,” she added.
