Trump on Butler shooting: ‘God was with me’

Two years since the assassination attempt on Donald Trump’s life in Pennsylvania, the President is thanking God for his safety – not his Secret Service detail. ‘Well, they blew Butler because they had one building that was empty and they blew it,’ Trump told Fox & Friends of his protective detail’s failure to prevent his shooting at the campaign rally on July 13, 2024. He was referencing the building that shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks climbed to target the President at a rally. A federal report determined that the Secret Service should have better secured the structure, called the AGR complex. Local law enforcement were inside the building while the roof was left unguarded. The Secret Service plan did not have the AGR complex within the inner secure perimeter. ‘God was with me,’ the President said, of his survival, noting how he turned his head to look at a chart showing immigration levels when he was shot in the ear. He praised the Secret Service counter-sniper, who the President said was named David, for taking quick action to fire back and ultimately kill Crooks.

Trump claimed the 20-year-old gunman had 300 rounds of ammunition, adding that the Secret Service’s quick response may have saved a larger attack. A Department of Homeland Security report released this year details that local law enforcement notified the Secret Service of a ‘suspicious person’ on the roof at 6.09pm. Trump was shot at eight times at 6.11pm. Six Secret Service agents were eventually suspended for failures connected to the near assassination attempt. The Secret Service’s then-director, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned ten days after the shooting. ‘The Secret Service does not perform at the elite levels needed to discharge its critical mission,’ a Department of Homeland Security report into the shooting concluded.

‘The Secret Service has become bureaucratic, complacent, and static even though risks have multiplied and technology has evolved.’ Two years on, lawmakers across the political spectrum are still in disbelief at how the tragic shooting – which killed firefighter Corey Comperatore and injured two others – came close to killing Trump. ‘He was shot in his head, and if it could have been a half an inch over, can you imagine if that was a fatal headshot, just like Kennedy?’ Democratic Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman told the Daily Mail.

‘Could you imagine what would have happened to our nation and the kinds of chaos and the upheaval for that?’ Arizona Republican Congressman Paul Gosar told the Daily Mail: ‘The attempted assassination of President Donald Trump was one of the darkest moments in modern American politics.’ ‘We thank God that President Trump survived, while remembering Corey Comperatore, who gave his life protecting his family, and praying for those who were injured.’ Despite the hand-wringing over the tragedy, the Butler shooting marked the beginning of a string of attacks on the President’s life.

Just two months after the Butler shooting, a second near-assassination took place at Donald Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club. In that incident, Ryan Wesley Routh stalked the Republican’s course and positioned himself in some bushes abutting the resort with a rifle and a camera. The attempt was foiled by a Secret Service agent who spotted the gunman and opened fire, forcing him to flee before he was later caught by authorities. Routh was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole earlier this year. Authorities also busted up an Iranian attempt to assassinate Trump that year.

Asif Merchant was convicted of murder for hire and attempting to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries in March. He faces up to life in prison. This year there has also been an attempt on Trump’s life. In April, Cole Tomas Allen allegedly attempted to assassinate the President at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, DC. Allen allegedly breached a Secret Service perimeter armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives. After a brief exchange of fire with the Secret Service, Allen allegedly tripped and was quickly apprehended in the room outside of the main dining hall where the dinner was taking place.

He is in custody awaiting his trial. Allen has pleaded not guilty. Elsewhere, in February, a 21-year-old breached the security perimeter at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida home, with a shotgun. The gunman was killed by authorities shortly after entering the property. Trump was not at the residence at the time. In late May, another violent attack happened near the White House. Nasire Best, 21, opened fire outside of a Secret Service checkpoint near the executive residence when he was shot and killed by authorities. The Secret Service was contacted for comment.