Donald Trump assassination bid: Slow-motion footage revealed how a last-minute head tilt by former US President Donald Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday may have saved him from a fatal injury.
The viral videos showed Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, moving just in time as the bullet grazed his right ear, with internet users asserting that his quick movement prevented a more serious injury.
Donald Trump remarked to his former White House doctor, Ronny Jackson, that the border patrol chart he was going over on a screen to his right might have saved his life, according to a report in The New York Times.
Ronny Jackson told the NYT that Donald Trump told him, “The border patrol saved my life. I was going over that border patrol chart. If I hadn’t pointed at that chart and turned my head to look at it, that bullet would have hit me right in the head.”
Several posts flooded X, formerly Twitter, showing Trump’s ear covered in blood as Secret Service agents rushed to the stage to protect Trump.
Footage from the Donald Trump rally showed him tilting his head just in time to save himself.
Slow-motion footage shows Trump moving just in time as a bullet clips his ear. pic.twitter.com/zNHPoRazzS
— David Gokhshtein (@davidgokhshtein) July 14, 2024
One of the users also questioned whether the bullet might have hit Trump differently had he not moved his head.
WATCH SLOW-MO: President Trump moves his head quickly while speaking on how Biden is the worst president.
He literally dodged a bullet, had he not moved his head, would the bullet have hit him differently? pic.twitter.com/LtNlg3u8RH
— Civic Crisis (@CivicCrisis) July 13, 2024
Another video that resurfaced showed two agents standing behind the stage, rushing immediately towards him as gunshots were heard.
Another new video POV from behind the stage moments BEFORE & after shots rang out at the Trump rally. pic.twitter.com/eO8njBARhH
— Moshe Schwartz (@YWNReporter) July 14, 2024
While the Secret Service agents encircled him to guard him down the stage safely, Trump called out to them to wait. “Wait, wait, wait!” the former president told his agents,” the AP reported.
While blood gushed from his ear, Donald Trump was rushed off the stage by the Secret Service. According to an AP report, he boldly pumped his fist high to the crowd and mouthed “fight” while pumping his arm three times, according to an AP report.
The male shooter, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was shot and killed by the Secret Service.
An eye-witness named Greg told the BBC that he had seen the gunman stationed at a building around 50 feet away from where he was standing. He further confirmed that he had seen the attacker crawl on top of the building.
The FBI is treating the incident as an assassination attempt but has not yet identified a motive.
After the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Tesla boss Elon Musk took to X to post that he “fully” endorsed Trump and questioned the competency of the Secret Service.
US President Joe Biden also commented about the Trump rally shooting and called upon America as a nation to condemn it.
The harrowing incident drew criticism from US President Joe Biden, who said, “We cannot be like this, we cannot condone this,” reported Bloomberg. Condemning the attack as “sick,” Biden said, “Everybody must condemn it.”
