Earlier this week, former President Donald Trump opened up about how deeply the recent assassination attempt on his life has affected his wife, Melania Trump. In an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, Trump shared that Melania was watching the incident unfold live and has been so shaken by it that she is unable to talk about it with anyone.
“She was watching live. She can’t really even talk about it, which is OK. That means she likes me. She loves me,” Trump said, adding a touch of humor to the situation. He explained Melania’s immediate reaction to the incident, saying, “When I went down, she thought the worst had happened, because I went down and grabbed my ear and my hand was loaded up with blood.”
The assassination attempt occurred when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire during a rally. Secret Service agents quickly responded, engaging Crooks, who was killed by a counter-sniper team. Despite their swift action, the gunman managed to cause significant harm before being neutralized. One rallygoer was killed in the attack, and two others were wounded, though both have since been discharged from the hospital.
In the aftermath of the incident, the Secret Service has faced bipartisan criticism for failing to secure the location properly. Crooks was able to scale the roof of the building where the rally was held, which enabled him to open fire. Questions have also been raised about the agency’s failure to track the gunman’s movements, despite receiving prior warnings about his presence before Trump took the stage.
“There should have been communication with the local police, which there wasn’t,” Trump commented, expressing disappointment in the security failures. “That’s a bad thing, and they were seeing this guy – it was a very disturbed person, and they were seeing him around.”
Despite the assassination attempt and security concerns, Trump has stated that he will continue to hold outdoor rallies, even against the recommendation of the Secret Service. “Yeah, I’m going to do rallies [outside],” he told Ingraham, stressing that he believes it’s “important symbolically.” He also announced plans to hold another outdoor rally in Butler.
In the wake of these events, Ronald Rowe has assumed the role of acting Secret Service Director, succeeding Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned after facing intense questioning during a House hearing. Cheatle struggled to address the communication failures leading up to the July 13 shooting.
The investigation into the shooting has revealed troubling details about Crooks. According to the FBI, the gunman had searched online for information about mass shootings, power plants, improvised explosive devices, and the May assassination attempt on the Slovakian prime minister, adding further concerns about how the threat was handled before the rally.
