In an interview on the social media platform X, former President Donald Trump spoke publicly for the first time about the apparent attempted assassination the U.S. Secret Service thwarted on Sunday.
The interview, focused on his sons' new cryptocurrency initiative and conducted by a crypto influencer, meandered to many of Trump's typical campaign trail talking points.
He started by lauding the Secret Service, saying they did a "great job" Sunday in protecting him during the incident while he played golf at his course in West Palm Beach, Fla. He said he heard four to five gunshots and was whisked away in a golf cart.
He joked that he "would have loved to sink that last putt."
He recounted the Secret Service agent who noticed the barrel of a gun in the bushes at the perimeter of the course, and started shooting. He went on to describe the apprehension of the alleged gunman, who authorities said didn't fire his gun.
Trump also recalled an assassination attempt against him in Butler, Pa., in July. He said the attempt on Sunday was a "much better result" because there was no loss of life, as there was in July, when one man died and two others were injured, apart from Trump who suffered a wound on his ear.
He also recalled a conversation with President Biden Monday, saying he was "very nice" on the call and that Biden asked whether Trump needed more people on his detail.
"We do need more people on my detail because we have 50, 60,000 people showing up to events," Trump said.
"And he couldn't have been nicer," Trump added of Biden. Trump did heavily criticize the policies of the Biden administration, as well as Biden and Vice President Harris personally, as is typical in his campaign appearances.
This comes after Trump blamed the "rhetoric" of Biden and Harris for the apparent attempt on his life in an interview with Fox News. In a post on X, he called Harris "hateful."
Trump has often used incendiary language in his public remarks.
His running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, repeated that on the campaign trail Monday night at the Faith and Freedom Coalition's Georgia Victory dinner in Atlanta.
“No one has tried to kill Kamala Harris in the last couple of months and two people now have tried to kill Donald Trump in the last couple of months," Vance stated. "I'd say that's pretty strong evidence that the left needs to, to tone down the rhetoric and needs to cut this crap out.”
Copyright 2024 NPR
