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Presidential candidate Donald Trump took the stage at a routine campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, exactly a year ago, on July 13, 2024, one of hundreds he’d appeared at since announcing his first presidential campaign in 2015.
But this rally turned out unlike any other of his political career.
As Trump stood at the podium, with supporters holding signs that said “Joe Biden, you’re fired!” directly behind him, the president pointed to a chart detailing low illegal immigration numbers at the end of his first term and how they’d risen under the Biden administration.
“That chart’s a couple of months old, and if you want to really see something that’s sad, take a look at what happened,” Trump said, halting as the sound of gunshots pierced the air.
TRUMP REVEALS CRUCIAL, SPLIT-SECOND MOMENT THAT SAVED HIS LIFE DURING BUTLER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
Moments later, Trump ducked, and Secret Service agents rushed to his side. More gunshots followed, and attendees fearfully screamed while Trump remained covered, waiting for the all-clear sign.
Once given the green light, Secret Service personnel rose alongside Trump to escort him from the stage. But Trump didn’t hide himself from his supporters. Instead, he emerged from the huddle, raised his fist high in the ai, and said “fight” three times, prompting the audience to erupt and chant “U-S-A!” as he exited.
Ultimately, 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight bullets at Trump from a rooftop during the rally, with a bullet grazing Trump’s ear. The gunman also killed Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old firefighter, father and husband attending the rally, and injured two others.
A Secret Service sniper killed Crooks during the shotting, and an FBI investigation remains in progress. No motive has been determined for why Crooks conducted the attack.
Classmates of Crooks have described Crooks as a “loner” subjected to bullying, and the FBI told reporters in August 2024 that Crooks likely suffered from an undiagnosed disorder.
FIRST RESPONDERS SIT DOWN WITH WIDOW OF FIREFIGHTER KILLED AT BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA, TRUMP RALLY
“It was unforgettable,” Trump said during an exclusive interview clip that aired Thursday on “My View with Lara Trump.” “I didn’t know exactly what was going on. I got a whack.
“People were screaming, and I got down quickly, fortunately, because I think they shot eight bullets.”
Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles, who then served as Trump’s campaign co-chair, said she initially believed Trump had been killed.
“You think the worst,” Wiles said in an interview that dropped Wednesday with Miranda Devine on “Pod Force One.” “You cannot — it’s human — you can’t think otherwise. And when he stood up, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh.'”
Wiles recounted that, due to the immigration chart, Trump had just moved his head slightly at the time of the ambush, a key adjustment in Trump’s posture as Crooks started to fire at him.
TRUMP CHIEF OF STAFF SUSIE WILES RECOUNTS BUTLER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, THOUGHT PRESIDENT WAS DEAD AT FIRST
“So, to have him ask for that chart, eight minutes in, and to have it come on the side that was opposite, caused him to look in a different direction and lift his head just a little because it was higher, and that just doesn’t happen because it happened,” she said.
“But it was a scary time, and it changed everything for us. The security became front and center, which it hadn’t been before.”
The attack led to an overhaul of the Secret Service in the past year to prevent another attack like the one in Pennsylvania. The Department of Homeland Security issued a report in October 2024, which determined that if the Secret Service didn’t enact reforms, another episode like the one in Pennsylvania was possible.
“The Secret Service does not perform at the elite levels needed to discharge its critical mission,” the report said. “The Secret Service has become bureaucratic, complacent, and static even though risks have multiplied and technology has evolved.”
Since then, the Secret Service has ushered in several key reforms to bolster its security measures and suspended six of its agents due to their response.
TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AFTERMATH, REACTIONS FROM INNER CIRCLE REVEALED IN NEW BOOK
Trump spoke about the attempt on his life days later at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, wearing a bandage on his ear and telling audience members he was “not supposed to be here tonight.” In response, the crowd started to chant back, “Yes you are!”
“Many people say it was a providential moment. Probably was,” Trump said at the convention. “When I rose, surrounded by Secret Service, the crowd was confused because they thought I was dead. And there was great, great sorrow. I could see that on their faces.
“As I looked out, they didn’t know I was looking out. They thought it was over. But I could see it. I wanted to do something to let them know I was OK. I raised my right arm, looked at the thousands and thousands of people that were breathlessly waiting and started shouting, ‘Fight, fight, fight.’”
Today, a painting depicting Trump’s fist raised with blood smeared across his face stands in the White House’s entrance hall.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital Friday that “God spared President Trump’s life by a miraculous millimeter.”
“Now one year later, President Trump is standing stronger than ever as he continues to ‘fight, fight, fight’ for the American people,” Leavitt said.
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