Trump Claims Divine Intervention Led Him to Revitalize America

During his inauguration speech, President Donald Trump expressed his belief that the thwarted assassination attempt on him at a Pennsylvania rally in July 2024 was a divine message to “make America great again.”

Trump endured a shooting at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, which injured his right ear and resulted in one fatality and two injuries. In that unfortunate event, as the bullet whizzed past his head, it struck him in the ear.

In his speech on Monday, Trump articulated his conviction that there was a purpose behind his survival of the assassination attempt.

“A few months ago, in a beautiful field in Pennsylvania, an assassin’s bullet tore through my ear, but I felt then, and believe even more strongly now, that my life was spared for a reason. I was saved by God,” he recalled, sharing the harrowing experience.

“I was saved by God to make America great again.”

This was the second assassination attempt targeting Trump within a span of just two months. In September 2024, Trump’s Secret Service team confronted a man equipped with a rifle, later identified by the FBI as would-be assassin Ryan Routh, near his golf course in Florida.

Prosecutors later revealed that Routh had intended to shoot Trump, referencing a note left with a friend months earlier. Routh never fired his weapon and escaped in a vehicle before being apprehended hours later.

The shooter who attacked Trump in Butler was identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old from Pennsylvania, who was shot and killed by responding Secret Service agents. The FBI has not disclosed a motive, and limited information regarding Crooks has been made available to the public. His family has not released a statement regarding the incident.

A few days after the Butler assassination attempt, the president remarked to a crowd: “I’m not supposed to be here tonight. Not supposed to be here… I thank you, but I’m not, and I’ll tell you, I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of Almighty God.”

“Behind me and to the right was a large screen showing a chart of border crossings during my leadership. The numbers were astonishing. To see the chart, I started to slightly turn to my right and was about to turn a bit further when I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt a significant impact on my right ear.”

“I thought to myself, ‘Wow, what was that? It can only be a bullet,’ and I instinctively moved my right hand to my ear, only to find it covered with blood. It was an alarming situation, and I immediately understood that we were under attack. I dropped to the ground, and brave Secret Service agents rushed to the stage amid the continuing gunfire.”

In his inauguration speech, Trump also outlined upcoming actions he plans to take, which include issuing orders about illegal immigration and border control, exploring energy sources, and providing back pay for service members dismissed over vaccine mandates, among others.