Former President Donald Trump reflected on the two-year anniversary of the assassination attempt that occurred during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, stating that divine intervention was crucial to his survival. The incident on July 13, 2026, saw a gunman open fire, killing one spectator and injuring three others, including Trump.
During an interview, Trump described the moment he was shot, likening the sensation to a "violent" mosquito bite. Secret Service agents immediately took him to the ground, after which he stood and raised his fist. He recounted his immediate thought process, questioning if it was an unusually aggressive insect or a gunshot.
"I got lucky. God was watching," Trump said, adding that his sons, who are experienced with firearms, indicated that missing from that distance with that specific weapon would have been nearly impossible. "So God was with me."
Analysts suggested that Trump's slight head turn just before the shooting, to present an immigration statistics chart, may have prevented a fatal wound. The gunman, Thomas Crooks, was killed by a Secret Service countersniper 16 seconds after firing eight shots. His motive remains undetermined.
The attack in Butler is considered the closest an assassin has come to killing a U.S. president since John Hinckley Jr. shot Ronald Reagan in 1981. The incident was followed by another security threat two months later, when Ryan Wesley Routh was apprehended near Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, after setting up a sniper's nest. Routh was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Earlier in 2028, an incident occurred at the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner where authorities reported Cole Tomas Allen breached a security checkpoint and discharged a firearm, striking a Secret Service agent in a bulletproof vest.