Melania Trump was watching as her husband was shot by a would-be assassin in Butler, Pennsylvania earlier this month — and thought the “worst had happened,” former President Donald Trump said during a Monday interview.
Talking with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, Trump said that his wife didn’t know what had occurred and feared that his wound was far worse than it was after seeing his hand “loaded up with blood,” the GOP presidential nominee said Monday.
As the U.K. Independent noted, the interview came amid further embarrassments for the protection afforded to Trump after it was revealed that text messages confirmed local police were aware of alleged gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks’ suspicious movements in the lead-up to the shooting.
Over an hour and a half before the president was shot, the messages showed, members of the Beaver County Emergency Service Unit were aware of a suspicious individual that later turned out to be the gunman, who was killed.
While Trump’s reaction to the Secret Service’s intervention was mixed — “They were very brave,” Trump said, “I have to say that” — he had nothing but praise for how Melania handled the situation.
“She was watching it live. It was all over the place,” Trump said. “It was on television, it was on your network.”
He said he asked her about it later and the emotions, Trump said, were too overwhelming.
“She can’t really even talk about it — which is OK, because that means she likes me, or she loves me,” he said, with a hint of self-deprecation.
“When I went down, she thought the worst had happened, because I went down and I grabbed my ear, and I saw my hand was loaded up with blood,” he continued.
“One man was hit, horribly, horribly in the head,” Trump said, speaking of fireman Corey Comperatore, who died protecting his family.
“That’s why it’s important to get to the bottom of why this occurred,” Ingraham added.
NEW: Donald Trump says Melania was watching his rally live when he was shot in the face by Thomas Crooks, says she is traumatized.
Ingraham: What was Melania’s reaction?
Trump: She was watching live. It was all over the place. I asked her that, I mean, I wasn’t there. I was on… pic.twitter.com/2CYLRuSBw4
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 30, 2024
Others responding to the clip noted that Melania Trump appeared emotional at the Republican National Convention, shortly after the assassination attempt.
She was crying during the convention ???? pic.twitter.com/O8skMVXCf7
— Cassie Nguyen (@azn_chic) July 30, 2024
Another X user said that people were “harsh on Melania.
“Her husband is trying to win the scariest job in the world and everyone thinks she should act like everything is fine and normal,” she said.
She added: “It’s not. I feel so bad for her.”
Everyone is so harsh on Melania.
Her husband is trying to win the scariest job in the world and everyone thinks she should act like everything is fine and normal.
It’s not. I feel so bad for her
— American Mama Bear ???? (@TheAmerican_Mom) July 30, 2024
Thankfully, Trump is OK — and so is his wife, assumedly, although watching one’s husband almost get killed is a reminder of the dangerous nature of being a political spouse in 2024.
It shouldn’t be this way. The president may be physically OK, but this country is spiritually sick. One can only hope for healing and God’s protection, lest this get any worse than it already has.