President Donald Trump remarked that "only consequential presidents get shot" when discussing assassination attempts against him during an interview with his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen. The interview, released by Cohen, touched on various topics, including reports of Trump secretly boarding a separate military jet to avoid an Iranian threat.
Cohen expressed his dismay at the attempts on the president's life, stating, "There is a huge difference between vehemently disagreeing with a policy and then trying to literally assassinate the President of the United States."
Responding to Cohen's comments, Trump quipped, "The one thing I would say to that. If you read, only consequential presidents get shot." Cohen then suggested Trump should try to be "less consequential," to which Trump replied, "Maybe I'll have to become less consequential."
Trump acknowledged that his job is "dangerous" but stated he has "great people" looking after him. He added that "non-consequential presidents lead a much nicer life. You can see that with some of our recent presidents where nothing was ever even thought about."
The interview marked the first public conversation between Trump and Cohen in nearly a decade. Cohen, a former key witness in cases against Trump, has previously been a vocal critic of the former president. He cited the Bible verse Colossians 3:13, which speaks of bearing with and forgiving one another, as a foundation for their current interactions.