White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino revealed that he often reflects on the close call President Donald Trump faced during an assassination attempt while on the 2024 campaign.
Trump was the target of two assassination attempts just months ahead of the November election. The first in Butler, Pennsylvania, last July resulted in a gunshot wound to Trump’s ear and killed one attendee, volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore. This close call prompted a new wave of support for the then-candidate, including from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who had rarely publicly endorsed any candidate but went on to become one of Trump’s senior advisers.
“Not a day goes by, I don’t think about it. I’ll never forget him dropping to the ground, shots being fired, him going down, and then him fighting through the Secret Service to get up — and not only get his shoe as you heard on the mic — but the way he got up and lifted his fist and yelled, ‘Fight, fight, fight.’ That’s his spirit. That’s the way that man is behind the scenes. Fight, fight, fight. He’s been doing that all his life,” Scavino said as his voice broke with emotion.
During his rally speech that day, Trump had a “Make America Great Again” hat on. Immediately following the incident, he was whisked away to the nearest hospital.
“I picked up his hat because the hat fell to the ground, gave it to him in the hospital. And he’s there on the phone wanting to know how you guys are doing, how the family is doing, how is everybody doing?” Scavino went on. “He cared about the people in the room, Secret Service agents, myself, Susie, and Walt, and Stephen. He’s a warrior. He’s a warrior, and that’s who the American people have leading this country.”
SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR IS ‘CONFIDENT’ TRUTH WILL BE REVEALED IN ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS
One of the Secret Service agents on the scene, Sean Curran, went on to become the Director of the Agency. The would-be assassin died at the scene when a Secret Service agent who was positioned as a sniper shot him in the seconds after the shooter struck Trump and three others. His background and motivation are still largely shrouded in mystery.
Kimberly Cheatle, the Director of the Secret Service at the time, resigned following the first assassination attempt.