‘I’m supposed to be dead... I’m still here’: Former US President Donald Trump recalls rally shooting horror

Former US president Donald Trump on Sunday told the New York Post he was “supposed to be dead” after surviving an assassination attempt which he described as a “very surreal experience”. 

“I’m not supposed to be here, I’m supposed to be dead,” Trump said. “I’m supposed to be dead.”  

Trump told the Post in an interview aboard his plane en route to Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention where he is set to be confirmed as the party’s presidential candidate. 

It was a “very surreal experience”, he recounted with a white bandage covering his right ear, the paper said. 

The 78-year-old Republican frontrunner in the presidential race was hit in the ear by a gunman at a campaign rally on Saturday. He was left with a bloodied face while a bystander was killed and two other people were wounded. 

The former US President said that had he not turned his head slightly to the right to read a chart on illegal immigrants it would have been a kill shot, instead it tore off a small piece of his ear and splattered blood on his forehead and cheek. 

“By luck or by God, many people are saying it’s by God I’m still here,” he said, adding he still wanted to continue speaking but the Secret Service agents said it wasn’t safe and they had to get him to a hospital. 

Trump praised the Secret Service agents their actions and killing the shooter. “They took him out with one shot. They did a fantastic job,” he added.  

The image of the former US President raising a defiant fist and saying “Fight”, “Fight”, “Fight” as Secret Service agents rushed him away from the stage was splashed across front pages around the world and went viral on social media.  

Speaking on the moment, Trump said, “A lot of people say it’s the most iconic photo they’ve ever seen. They’re right and I didn’t die. Usually, you have to die to have an iconic picture.” 

Asked if he had given any thought to attending the funeral of Corey Comperatore, the firefighter who died shielding his family from the killer’s gunfire, Trump said yes.  

Trump also praised the crowd at the rally, which he put at 55,000 for remaining calm. He added: “I love them. They are such great people.” 

Trump said after the attempt on his life he was rewriting the speech he had prepared for the Republican convention. 

He said he had “prepared an extremely tough speech” about Biden’s “horrible administration. But I threw it away” for one he hopes will “unite our country”. 

“But I don’t know if that’s possible. People are very divided,” the former US President added.