President Donald Trump has revealed more details about the conversation he had with his former presidential election rival after narrowly surviving an assassination attempt.
Shortly after being shot during a campaign rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania, earlier this month, Democrat President Joe Biden called Trump to speak to him about the attack.
During an interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters, Trump said Biden told him he was “lucky” to survive the attempt on his life.
Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), sat down for an interview with Watters that aired on Monday.
The 45th president told Watters that he had a “nice conversation” with the 81-year-old president after the shooting.
“He said, ‘You’re lucky you turned to the right,’” Trump said of his phone call with Biden.
Last week, Biden told NBC News’ Lester Holt that he had a “very cordial” conversation with Trump after the assassination attempt.
“I told him how concerned I was and wanted to make sure I knew how he was actually doing,” Biden said.
“He sounded good. He said he was fine, and he thanked me for calling.”
“I told him he was literally in the prayers of Jill and me, and his whole family was weathering this,” Biden added.
The would-be assassin’s bullet pierced Trump’s ear as he spoke from the rally stage.
Trump narrowly avoided death after he suddenly turned his head slightly to look at a chart on illegal immigration statistics.
Analysis of the shooting and the path of the bullet has shown if Trump had not moved his head at that moment, the bullet would have likely hit his brain.
The gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was on target until Trump moved his head at the same time he pulled the trigger.
The 20-year-old shooter gained access to the roof of a BlackRock-owned building fewer than 150 yards away from the stage at Trump’s Pennsylvania rally on July 13.
He was spotted by Secret Service snipers 20 minutes before he fired upon the 45th president, according to law enforcement officials.
While Trump expressed his gratitude to the Secret Service agents who rushed to his aid on the stage after he went down, he questioned how the gunman successfully got multiple shots off at such a close distance.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday morning, Trump blasted the White House over the assassination attempt, writing:
“The Biden/Harris Administration did not properly protect me, and I was forced to take a bullet for Democracy.
“IT WAS MY GREAT HONOR TO DO SO!”
Trump also told Watters that Secret Service agents wanted to put him on a stretcher after he had been shot.
However, he told them that he was fine to stand up and walk on his own.
“They had a stretcher, and they wanted to put me on a stretcher,” Trump said.
“And I said, ‘I’m not going on a stretcher.’”
“I said, ‘I’m telling you, I’m OK. I’m fine. I’m going to get up. I want to get up. I’m not going to be taken out on a stretcher,’” he added.
On Monday, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was grilled by Congress over her agency’s failure to prevent the assassination attempt on Trump.
During the hearing, Republicans and Democrats urged her to resign.
As Slay News reported earlier, she announced Tuesday that she would step down from her position.
“Somebody should’ve made sure there was nobody on that roof,” Trump told Watters.
“That roof was a dead aim right onto the stage.
“And they said they didn’t have the manpower for it, which is crazy.
“A hundred thirty yards is like sinking a one-foot putt.
“It’s considered really close.”
“You have to answer: why couldn’t I have stayed off the stage for five minutes while they do their work?” he added.
“Why couldn’t, you know, how does a situation happen where a roof that’s plainly in sight from the location where I was speaking … why would somebody not have seen that?”
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