Donald Trump praised the female Secret Service agent who “bravely” shielded him during his attempted assassination, saying she “wanted to take a bullet,” after critics suggested she was too small to effectively protect the 6-foot-3 former president.

Trump praised the female agent’s actions during the July 13 attempt on his life while speaking at a rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota, on Saturday.

“There was great bravery displayed… Every one of them. There wasn’t one that was slow,” Trump began telling the crowd. “There was a woman to my right shielding me. A beautiful person. She was shielding me with everything she could.”

The former president continued: “She got criticized by the fake news because she wasn’t tall enough. She was criticized and she was so brave.”

“She was shielding me with everything. She wanted to take a bullet,” he added as the crowd erupted into cheers.

The female agent was the subject of harsh online commentary from many on social media, including Tech Mogul Elon Musk, who noted she seemed too short to effectively shield the former president.

“Having a small person as body cover for a large man is like an undersized Speedo at the beach – doesn’t cover the subject,” Musk wrote.

He added: “Could be a man or a woman, to be clear, just needs to be large enough to do the job.”

Video taken during the rally shows the female agent and other male Secret Service agents closely huddled around Trump.

She was also pictured after the assassination attempt helping into a nearby car after gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks fired into the rally crowd.

Crooks, 20, opened fire with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle, clipping the former president in the ear and killing a rally attendee before he was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper.

Authorities have yet to elaborate on a motive for the attack, which has sparked fierce bipartisan outrage at the Secret Service’s failings in protecting the former president.