President Donald Trump acknowledged the targeted risk of being the leader of the United States on the one-year anniversary of the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he was shot.
Sunday marks one year since Trump narrowly missed death on July 13, 2024, when a shooter’s bullet grazed his ear while he was speaking at the 2024 campaign rally.
To reflect on the moment, Trump was interviewed by his daughter-in-law Lara Trump in an episode of Fox News’s My View with Lara Trump that was released Saturday. He referenced the fact that the former presidents have been killed on the job, including President John F. Kennedy, James A. Garfield, Abraham Lincoln, and William McKinley.
“This is a very dangerous job, being president. They say a race car driver, 1% of 1% — think of that — die. It’s not a lot. A bull rider — I think that’s pretty dangerous — it’s like one tenth of 1% die,” Trump said.
“And with the president, it’s like 5%. Why didn’t you tell me this? I could have maybe made a different decision,” he continued with a small chuckle. “But I wouldn’t have made a different decision because we are doing so well. The country’s back.”
In his experience, Trump joined the ranks of other presidents to survive assassination attempts, including former President Theodore Roosevelt, who was on the campaign trail when he survived an attempt on his life. Former Presidents Andrew Jackson and Ronald Reagan also survived attempts against their lives during their respective terms.
While there are still unanswered questions regarding the circumstances that allowed a gunman in Butler to shoot and wound Trump’s ear from yards away, Trump dismissed the idea that there was any sort of “bigger plot.”
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“They briefed me and I’m satisfied with it,” Trump said. “I have great confidence in these people. I know the people, and they’re very talented, very capable. They had a bad day. I think they’ll admit that.”
The Secret Service confirmed six agents were suspended without pay in its one-year update on the investigation. Their respective suspensions ranged from 10 to 42 days.