Former US President Donald Trump survived a 5.56mm bullet fired from an AR-15 rifle at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. Mr Trump was shot in the ear, with blood splattering on his face after the first pump fired. The photo is one of the most iconic images in modern American political history.
Speaking to Fox News, the former president referred to his conversation with Secret Service chief Kimberly Cheatle after the shooting, but said there should have been a guard on the rooftop from which 20-year-old shooter Thomas Matthews Crooks fired.
“She came to see me. And, I mean, it went very well. She was very nice, I thought. But, you know, somebody should have made sure there was nobody on that roof,” Mr Trump told Fox News.
Ms Cheatle admitted that the US Secret Service, the lead agency tasked with protecting current and former presidents, failed in its mission to prevent the assassination attempt. The testimony was given during a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
The Secret Service chief said the roof, which was hit by gunfire from an assailant just days before the rally, had been identified as a potential threat.
‘130 yards is like a one-foot putt’
Talking about the shooter’s position during Trump’s conversation with the Secret Service chief, the former president said, “She was aiming straight at the rooftop platform. And they said they didn’t have enough manpower for that, which is crazy. He said, 130 yards (130 m) is like sinking a one-foot putt. That’s considered close.
The Secret Service chief has admitted to the “biggest operational failure in decades” after questions were raised about the agency’s response to the threat. In her testimony, Ms Cheatle acknowledged that rallygoers alerted the Secret Service “two to five times” about a man on the roof, but he was “not immediately classified as a threat”.
‘Biden called me’
In his interview with Fox News, Mr Trump spoke about his conversation with US President Joe Biden, who said, “You’re lucky you turned to the right”, referring to the tilt of his head half a second before the bullet hit his head and grazed his right ear, saving the former president.
Trump described his conversation with Joe Biden as a “good conversation.” He said Secret Service agents wanted to take him off the stage on a stretcher, but he refused to do so. “They wanted to put me on a stretcher,” Trump said. “They had a stretcher and they wanted to put me on a stretcher. And I said, ‘I’m not going on a stretcher.'”
Former White House physician and now Texas lawmaker Ronny Jackson gave the first detailed account of Trump’s injury. Mr Jackson said, “The bullet passed less than a quarter inch from entering his head and lodged above his right ear.”
