Former US President Donald Trump said, in an interview with the New York Post, after surviving an assassination attempt on Saturday during an election rally in Pennsylvania, “I was supposed to be dead,” noting that it was a “surreal” experience.
"I wasn't supposed to be here. I was supposed to be dead," Trump added to the newspaper from his plane on his way to Milwaukee to attend the Republican National Convention, where he is scheduled to confirm his candidacy for the presidential elections scheduled for November.
The newspaper noted that Trump narrated a “surreal experience” while wearing a white bandage covering his right ear.
Trump added that if he had not tilted his head slightly to the right to read a graphic about illegal immigrants during his speech at the campaign rally, he would have died.
“Thanks to good luck, or by the grace of God, many say that I am still here by the grace of God,” he said, praising the Secret Service agents for killing the shooter.
He added, "They killed him with one bullet between the eyes. They did a wonderful job. It is surreal for all of us," according to what Agence France-Presse reported.
The photo of Trump raising his fist after being shot while being escorted by Secret Service agents made headlines around the world and spread quickly on social media.
The former Republican president told the newspaper, "Many say it is the most distinctive photo they have ever seen. They are right and I did not die. Usually you have to die to have a distinctive and famous photo."
Trump said that he is rewriting the speech he prepared to deliver at the Republican Party convention after the assassination attempt, explaining that he prepared a "very harsh speech" about "the terrible administration of (US President Joe) Biden. But I threw it away" to replace it with a speech that he hopes will "unite our country."
However, he added, "But I don't know if that's possible. People are very divided."