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Trump Says Bullet Felt Like Mosquito Bite, Turning His Head Saved His Life: Bret Baier

"He's in really great spirits."

   DailyWire.com
BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 13: Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he is rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. Butler County district attorney Richard Goldinger said the shooter is dead after injuring former U.S. President Donald Trump, killing one audience member and injuring another in the shooting. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Former President Trump spoke to Fox News’ Bret Baier on Sunday about the assassination attempt on his life at his Pennsylvania rally a day earlier, describing the moments during and just after the shooting.

A gunman attempted to assassinate Trump from a nearby rooftop during Saturday’s rally, firing a bullet that grazed the former president’s ear before Secret Service evacuated him. Law enforcement returned fire immediately, killing the shooter. At least one rally-goer was killed and two others were wounded.

Footage of the incident showed Trump ducking behind the podium before being escorted away by Secret Service with blood on his ear. He raised his fist in the air several times as he left.

During a phone call with Baier, Trump said the bullet hitting his ear felt like “the biggest mosquito of his life,” according to the Fox News host.

“We talked for about 15 minutes, and he said I could express some of the things he talked about,” Baier said. “He’s in really great spirits, he is on his way to Milwaukee … saying they’re not going to let the shooter affect any of his plans.”

The Republican National Convention is set to begin Monday in Milwaukee.

Baier said he wanted to convey Trump’s words characterizing “how that all went down” when the shooting happened.

“At the speech, you see that he turns to the right. That’s because there’s this big graphic of immigration stats — about border security stats — and he wasn’t doing it in his speech at that moment. Like, it was ahead of time, and he called up the graphic early. And so he turned sideways to look at the big graphic on the side, which is why his head is turned as he’s looking that way,” Baier said.

“And right at that moment, he gets what he calls the biggest mosquito of his lifetime, or a bumblebee that sort of feels like in his ear,” the Fox host said. “And he realizes, he looks at his hand, and it’s blood, and he goes down. He said it happened so quickly, and then the Secret Service jump on him, and they’re very strong.”

During their phone call, Trump also referenced a picture taken by a New York Times photographer in which the gunman’s bullet is visible whizzing past Trump’s head, Baier said.

“He’s amazed that it happened, he understands he’s blessed to be where he is today. In fact, the doctor he talked to said if that bullet was a quarter of an inch different position, he would not be talking to that doctor today,” Baier said.

Trump told Baier he “really wanted to go back and say a couple of things” including letting the crowd know he was okay, but “the Secret Service had none of that,” Baier said.

Baier said Trump also expressed that he plans to make “unity” a theme at the Republican National Convention.

“He did talk about inviting Nikki Haley to speak and her accepting that as one of those things,” Baier said.

Trump also “praised” President Joe Biden for calling him in the aftermath of the shooting, Trump calling it a “good conversation,” Baier said.

“He’s worried about how things are going to develop in the country, but he said that he was really pleased with how the Secret Services acted and thinks that the convention is going to go on as scheduled,” Baier said.

Trump has not spoken in public yet since the shooting, but he has released several statements on social media since the deadly incident.

“Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers yesterday, as it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening,” Trump said in a statement on Sunday. “We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness.”

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The Daily Wire   >  Read   >  Trump Says Bullet Felt Like Mosquito Bite, Turning His Head Saved His Life: Bret Baier