Former US President Donald Trump escaped certain death by tilting his head to look at a chart seconds before he was shot.
A TikTok account, PointConsciousness, tracked the trajectory of the ballistic missile with a graphic showing how a tilt of the head saved Trump from losing his life at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
About two seconds before the shot hit, the right side of Mr Trump’s head was in the line of fire. A second later, the former US president leaned to his left and tilted his head slightly to the right – the bullet from the AR-15 rifle grazed his right ear, and blood splattered on his face.
Wow… 100% miracle.
— Catturd™ (@catturd2) July 16, 2024
How a chart saved Mr Trump’s life
Trump, a hardliner on immigration issues, told Texas Congressman Ronny Jackson, also a doctor, hours after the assassination attempt how a chart saved his life. In an interview with The New York Times, Mr. Jackson described what Mr. Trump told him over the phone.
This chart shows immigration data during the tenure of President Joe Biden.
Mr Trump credited the Border Patrol with “saving his life”. He was referring to a chart with immigration statistics on a screen to his right. He tilted his head to look at the chart, and that’s when the bullet grazed his ear, narrowly missing his head.
Mr Jackson’s nephew was also hurt at the rally, he wrote on X. “Thankfully his injuries were not serious and he is okay. My family was sitting in the front where the President was speaking. They heard the gunshots – my nephew then realised he had blood on his neck and something had grazed his neck. He was treated by those in the medical tent. Thank you to everyone who reached out to check on him.”
My nephew was injured at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Thankfully his injuries were not serious and he is okay. My family was sitting in the front row where the president was speaking. They heard gunfire – then my nephew realized he had blood on his neck…
— Ronny Jackson (@RonnyJacksonTX) July 14, 2024
“The president and the survivors are lucky to be alive,” he said.
‘Confusion and fear were rampant’
Jason Vecchio, who attended Trump’s election rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, told NDTV. Mr Vecchio, who was 150 steps away from the stage, said it was a very positive experience, until the former president was shot and then a kind of “confusion and fear” set in.
“The bullets went through him, hit the machine and the boom fell down because it hit a hydraulic line. We saw the Secret Service jump on top of him, to protect him. It wasn’t like we knew right away what was going on. It felt like there was a shootout because I’ve been around firearms. We got down and heard the shooting stop. At that point, I ran to the fence, jumped over the fence and hid under a police car because I wasn’t sure if there was a second shooter or a shooter in the crowd. Nobody knew where the shooter was. So I just wanted to be in the safest place possible.”
“And then we all saw Trump stand up and raise his fist in the air and we all stood up and started chanting. It was a very emotional moment. To see him stand up when we all thought he was dead was a very emotional moment. And then I went to the fence and went to my friends and we together opened up the fence and started to give everybody a way to get out,” Mr Vecchio said, recalling what he saw at the incident.
‘The shooters saw the shooters before the attack’
The assassination attempt has changed the direction of the presidential election campaign, with the Republican Party becoming more united and standing behind its candidate Donald Trump. Investigative agencies are still looking for clues as to why the crooks attacked Mr Trump.
The Secret Service, responsible for protecting US political leaders, has faced heavy criticism over how a gunman was allowed to point an assault rifle at Trump on a rooftop nearly 500 feet away.
Footage has emerged of people who saw the gunman on the roof and tried to warn security personnel before he opened fire. According to CBS News, three snipers were stationed inside the building the shooter used. As per the operation plan, they were positioned inside the building so they could look out the windows towards the Trump rally. The rookies pulled out rangefinders and the Secret Service sniper radioed to the command post, CBS News reported.
Authorities believe the attacker may have used an air conditioning unit to climb onto the roof.
