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Trump Praises God, Saying ‘It Was God Alone Who Prevented the Unthinkable’

Michael Foust

Former President Donald Trump is crediting divine intervention for sparing his life Saturday when a gunman's bullet that was intended for his head instead only grazed his ear. The would-be assassin, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, crawled atop a nearby building with a high-powered rifle and aimed it at Trump's head but narrowly missed his target by less than half an inch. Law enforcement was still searching for a motive.

It was the most serious assassination attempt on a president or former president since 1981 when Ronald Reagan was shot but survived. 

Trump's life may have been spared due to a last-second head turn that, apparently, prevented the bullet from striking him directly. 

On his Truth Social account, Trump expressed gratitude and remained resolute. 

"Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers yesterday, as it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening," Trump wrote. "We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness. Our love goes out to the other victims and their families. We pray for the recovery of those who were wounded and hold in our hearts the memory of the citizen who was so horribly killed."

Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old attendee at the Butler, Pa., rally, was killed as he covered his wife and two daughters to protect them, according to media reports. He was a former firefighter. 

Trump is scheduled to accept the Republican Party's nomination this week in his bid to become the first president since Grover Cleveland (1885-1889 and 1893-1897) to serve two nonconsecutive terms. 

"In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined and not allowing Evil to Win," he said. "I truly love our Country, and love you all, and look forward to speaking to our Great Nation this week from Wisconsin."

Trump told the Washington Examiner his life was spared because he looked to his right at a screen showing data. 

"That reality is just setting in," he said. "I rarely look away from the crowd. Had I not done that in that moment, well, we would not be talking today, would we?"

Meanwhile, Trump said he is rewriting his speech, changing it from one that primarily focused on his opponent, President Biden, to one that unites the country.

"It is a chance to bring the country together," he told the Examiner. "I was given that chance."

He added, "This is a chance to bring the whole country, even the whole world, together. The speech will be a lot different, a lot different than it would've been two days ago."

As he walked off the stage surrounded by Secret Service agents Saturday, Trump turned to the crowd and held up his fist, with his lips forming the word, "Fight." He told the Examiner he wanted the world to know he had survived. 

"The energy coming from the people there in that moment, they just stood there; it's hard to describe what that felt like, but I knew the world was looking," he said. "I knew that history would judge this, and I knew I had to let them know we are OK."

Trump isn't the first president or former president to credit divine intervention. 

Former President Ronald Reagan was shot on March 30, 1981, by attempted assassin John Hinkley Jr., whose bullet pierced Reagan's left lung and stopped only an inch from his heart. Reagan, in his March 31 diary, credited God for his survival.

"Whatever happens now, I owe my life to God and will try to serve him in every way I can," Reagan wrote. 

In the hospital, Reagan said he forgave his shooter.

"I focused on that tiled ceiling and prayed," Reagan wrote. "But I realized I couldn't ask for God's help while at the same time, I felt hatred for the mixed-up young man who had shot me. Isn't that the meaning of the lost sheep? We are all God's children & therefore, equally beloved by him. I began to pray for his soul and that he would find his way back to the fold."

A month later, on April 28, 1982, Reagan delivered his State of the Union Address, thanking Americans for their support as he healed. 

"The warmth of your words, the expression of friendship and, yes, love, meant more to us than you can ever know," Reagan said. "You have given us a memory that we'll treasure forever. And you've provided an answer to those few voices that were raised saying that what happened was evidence that ours is a sick society. The society we heard from is made up of millions of compassionate Americans and their children, from college age to kindergarten."

Related Resource: Feeling Overwhelmed by the Stress of the Political Season?

In this episode of Breathe: The Stress Less Podcast, Bonnie explores practical ways to find peace and lower anxiety through the power of prayer. Learn to breathe in God’s loving word of affirmation and breathe out your stress with biblically-based soul-care techniques. Tune into this episode to discover how you can experience God’s peace and joy amidst real-life challenges and political turmoil.

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Joe Raedle/Staff

Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.