'By luck or by God': Trump talks surviving brush with death at Pennsylvania rally

Roughly 24 hours after a bullet tore through his ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday evening, former President Donald Trump spoke with several journalists to discuss his brush with death and the upcoming Republican National Convention.

During his flight from Bedminster, New Jersey, to Milwaukee, Wisconsin — the city that will host the GOP convention from Monday until Thursday — Trump sat for an interview with Salena Zito as well as with Michael Goodwin and Byron York, reflecting on the moment he dodged almost certain assassination by less than an inch.

'I love them. They are such great people.'

"I’m not supposed to be here, I’m supposed to be dead," he told Goodwin and York. "I’m supposed to be dead."

"I rarely look away from the crowd," he added to Zito. "Had I not done that in that moment, well, we would not be talking today, would we?"

Trump claimed that a doctor later described his near-miss as "a miracle," and the former president seems open to the possibility of divine intervention, admitting that he survived either "by luck or by God."

"Many people are saying it’s by God I’m still here."

Trump also discussed the images that have since gone viral capturing the moments immediately following the shooting. He openly agreed with Goodwin and York that those photos are now "iconic."

"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."

Trump explained his reasons for raising his fist, even as Secret Service agents swarmed and blood dripped down his face. He claimed he felt a duty to lead his supporters who likewise remained stoic in the face of danger.

"A lot of places, especially soccer games, you hear a single shot, everybody runs. Here there were many shots, and they stayed," Trump mused.

"The energy coming from the people there in that moment, they just stood there; it’s hard to describe what that felt like, but I knew the world was looking. I knew that history would judge this, and I knew I had to let them know we are OK," he continued.

"I love them. They are such great people."

Trump also paid tribute to Corey Comperatore, the former Pennsylvania fire chief who died during the shooting, and the two men who were injured. He pledged to attend Comperatore's funeral and to "call all the families" of those affected.

'America goes on, we go forward.'

Though Trump and the crowd rose to the occasion, the former president still had to contend with some practical issues arising from the incident. For one thing, the Secret Service agents almost immediately tackled him like "linebackers," he said, causing his shoes to fly off and his skin to bruise.

He has since thanked the agents profusely, claiming, "They did a fantastic job." He also publicly recognized their heroic interventions to save his life, including whisking him off the stage despite his objections.

"I just wanted to keep speaking," Trump insisted, "but I just got shot."

With the Republican convention set to begin on Monday in anticipation of his formal certification as the party's nominee on Thursday, Trump will soon have another key moment to speak to the country. Trump told Goodwin, York, and Zito that the attempt on his life prompted him to rewrite his prepared convention speech.

"The speech I was going to give on Thursday was going to be a humdinger," he said to Zito. "Had this not happened, this would’ve been one of the most incredible speeches."

The original speech called out the "the corrupt, horrible" Biden administration, he said, while the revamped version instead seeks "to unite our country." "This is a chance to bring the whole country, even the whole world, together," he said. "The speech will be a lot different, a lot different than it would’ve been two days ago."

Perhaps in a grudging show of unity, Trump told Goodwin and York that he had a "fine" conversation with a "very nice" Joe Biden on Saturday night, just hours after the shooting.

Yet, Trump still has his doubts about true American unity. "Some people want open borders, some don’t," he noted. "Some want men to be able to play on women’s sport teams, and others don’t."

Even with the bitter divide, Trump said he wants to impart a message of strength and hope for the future, the same lessons he learned from the deadly shooting.

"America goes on, we go forward," he said.

"We are strong."

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