Former President Donald Trump recounted the assassination attempt that nearly killed him during his Republican National Convention acceptance speech in Milwaukee on Thursday night.
"I'm not supposed to be here tonight," said a somber Trump, with a bandage covering his right ear, which was nicked by a bullet. "As you already know, the assassin's bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life."
"I stand before you by the grace of almighty God," Trump said before approaching and kissing the fire chief's helmet of Corey Comperatore, who was killed in the shooting by Thomas Crooks in Butler Township, Pennsylvania, during a campaign rally Saturday.
"As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a shared destiny. We rise together. Or we fall apart," said Trump on the eve of the eighth anniversary of his first nomination for the presidency.
"Despite such a heinous attack, we unite this evening more determined than ever. Our resolve is unbroken, and our purpose is unchanged — to deliver a government that serves the American people," Trump said.
Trump also expressed his "gratitude to the American people for your outpouring of love and support following the assassination attempt."
Trump told the convention audience, which included his wife Melania and his children and their partners, that, "I'll tell you what happened, and you'll never hear it from me a second time, because it's too painful to tell."
Trump said that during the rally in Butler, "I began speaking very happily because I was discussing the great job my administration did on immigration at the southern border."
"Behind me and to the right was a large screen that was displaying a chart of border crossings under my leadership," he said. "In order to see the chart, I started to turn to my right, and was ready to begin a further turn, which I'm lucky I didn't, when I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me, really hard, on my right ear."
"I said to myself, 'Wow, what was that — it can only be a bullet — and moved my right hand to my ear, brought it down, and my hand was covered with blood," Trump said. "I immediately knew it was very serious, that we were under attack, and in one movement, proceeded to drop to the ground."
Trump said that his Secret Service protective detail rushed the stage and covered him.
"There was blood pouring everywhere, and yet, in a certain way I felt very safe, because I had God on my side," Trump said.
"The amazing thing is that prior to the shot, if I had not moved my head at the very last instant, the assassin's bullet would have perfectly hit its mark, and I would not be with you tonight," he said.
Trump said the "most incredible aspect" of the attack, which injured two other men in addition to killing Comperatore, was that the crowd of rally attendees did not stampede to escape the gunfire.
"In fact, many of them bravely, but automatically, stood up looking for where the sniper would be, and then began pointing at him," Trump said.
"Nobody ran, and by not stampeding, many lives were saved," he said. "But that isn't the reason they didn't move — the reason is that they knew I was in serious trouble, they saw all of the blood, and thought I was dead, and they just didn't want to leave me, and you can see that love written all over their faces."
"When I rose, surrounded by Secret Service, the crowd was confused because they thought I was dead, and there was great sorrow on their faces until I raised my right arm, looked at the thousands of people that were breathlessly waiting, and started shouting 'fight, fight, fight!"
Later in the speech, Trump said, "I am here tonight to lay out a vision for the whole nation."
"To every citizen, whether you are young or old, man or woman, Democrat, Republican, or Independent, black or white, Asian or Hispanic, I extend to you a hand of loyalty and friendship."
Throughout the speech, Trump only mentioned President Joe Biden by name a few times — a striking shift away from the personal attacks that set the tone at many of his political speeches.
As of late Thursday, Biden remained the presumptive Democratic nominee. But the sheer fact of how rarely Trump mentioned Biden's name underscored the very real possibility that Biden might not be on the ballot in November.
Biden is under strong pressure by leading Democrats and rank-and-file members of Congress to drop out of the election contest due to his dismal performance against Trump in a debate last month, and increasing concerns that he is less mentally sharp than even several years ago.
Later in the speech, Trump blasted the president's performance over the past 3½ years, particularly when it came to Biden's border policy.
"Less than four years ago, I handed this administration the strongest border in American history," Trump said. "The current administration terminated every single one of those great Trump policies that I put in place to seal the border."
"The greatest invasion in history is taking place right here in our country — they are coming in from every corner of the earth, not just from South America, but from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East — they're coming from everywhere, and this administration does nothing to stop them," Trump said.
He said the United States has "an inflation crisis that is making life unaffordable, ravaging the incomes of working and low-income families."
Trump promised the RNC that if elected "the United States will be respected again."
"No nation will question our power. No enemy will doubt our might."
Trump's call for national unity and an end to "discord and division" come nearly four years after he refused to accept the results of the 2020 election, which he lost as a one-term incumbent to Biden, falsely claiming he was the victim of widespread ballot fraud.
Trump, who has demonized Democrats and other opponents as fascists and communists, led a rally on Jan. 6, 2021, where he urged followers to march on the U.S. Capitol to oppose the certification of Biden's victory.
Trump's followers then stormed the Capitol, invading the halls of Congress, and injuring more than 100 police officers as they delayed for hours the confirmation of his defeat by Biden. Trump's vice president, Mike Pence, who presided over the joint session of Congress that day, hid from the mob that Trump for hours refused to call off.
In his speech Thursday, Trump relied on an apocalyptic vision of the world, as he has done for years. But he delivered the vision with noticeably less fire than he has in the past.
"Here is an international crisis the likes of which the world has seldom seen," Trump said. "War is now raging in Europe and the Middle East, a growing specter of conflict hangs over Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines, and all of Asia, and our planet is teetering on the edge of World War Three, and this will be a war like no other."
"It is time for a change," Trump said. "We simply cannot sustain four more years of this administration."
