Trump Says Slight Turn of Head Saved His Life During Assassination Attempt

A slight turn of his head meant the difference between life and death, former President Donald Trump said in a Monday interview that was published just 36 hours after he survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania.

He added that if he only made a “half-turn” of his head, the bullet would “[hit] the back of the brain,” adding that “the other way goes right through [the skull].”

“And because the sign was high, I’m looking up. The chances of my making a perfect turn are probably one-tenth of one percent, so I’m not supposed to be here,” the former president said.

As the bullet was traveling at such a high speed near his head, he recalled, “I had to be at the exact right angle.” He added that the bullet “was an eighth of an inch away. That I would turn exactly at that second, where he [the gunman] wouldn’t stop the shot is pretty amazing. Pretty amazing. I’m really not supposed to be here.”

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The FBI has identified the suspect as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, and later Sunday, agents said that they believe he acted alone in what they described as an attempted assassination. As of Monday morning, federal officials have not identified a motive or if he was driven by a political animus, but it’s being investigated as domestic terrorism.

The former president, along with some Republicans and Democrats, have called for unity after the assassination attempt, while others have called for politicians and the media to tamp down highly partisan rhetoric.

“I’d love to achieve unity if you could achieve unity, if that’s possible,” former President Trump told reporters on Sunday while on his plane. “There are many good people on the other side … but there are also people who are very divided.”

But he asked later: “The question is can those two sides get together?

“The work that we have been doing with the Secret Service and over 40 different law enforcement agencies from all across Wisconsin … we are going to make absolutely sure that the 50,000 delegates, guests, alternates, and members of the press that are here are going to be safe when they come to Milwaukee for this convention,” he told Newsmax.

The convention will be held from Monday, July 15, until Thursday, July 18. Before he’s nominated, former President Trump is also expected to name his running mate.

For the nominating convention, the former president said Sunday that he previously penned a “brutal” and “really tough” speech but he “threw it out” after the shooting in Pennsylvania. Now, he’ll focus on unifying the country, he stated.

“I think it would be very bad if I got up and started going wild about how horrible everybody is, and how corrupt and crooked, even if it’s true,” he said. “Had this not happened, we had a speech that was pretty well set that was extremely tough. Now, we have a speech that is more unifying.”