President Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt last night during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a 20-year-old Democrat donor named Thomas Matthew Crooks fired a gun at him.
Following the shooting, Trump was seen clutching his neck and bleeding from his ear. Video footage also captured Trump quickly ducking after the initial shots rang out. S
ecret Service agents swiftly protected him and led him away from further danger. Despite his injuries, Trump defiantly raised his fist and urged the crowd to “Fight!” multiple times.
Former First Lady Melania Trump has since issued a strong statement in response to the attack, expressing her sympathy for the families affected and all Americans nationwide.
“I am thinking of you, now, my fellow Americans,” Melania continued. “We have always been a unique union. America, the fabric of our gentle nation is tattered, but our courage and common sense must ascend and bring us back together as one.”
“To the families of the innocent victims who are now suffering from this heinous act, I humbly offer my sincerest sympathy,” she said. “Your need to summon your inner strength for such a terrible reason saddens me.”
She then revealed what went through her mind when Trump was struck in the ear by a bullet, inches away from her brain, and thanked those who saved her husband.
“When I watched that violent bullet strike my husband, Donald, I realized my life, and Barron’s life, were on the brink of devastating change. I am grateful to the brave secret service agents and law enforcement officials who risked their own lives to protect my husband,” Melania wrote.
She described Crooks as “a monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine” who attempted to “ring out Donald’s passion — his laughter, ingenuity, love of music, and inspiration.”
Melania then warned about America’s “personal, structural, and life commitment” until death and urged Americans to “ascend above the hate, the vitriol, and the simple-minded ideas that ignite violence.”
“We all want a world where respect is paramount, family is first, and love transcends. We can realize this world again,” she added. “Each of us demand to get it back. We must insist that respect fills the cornerstone of our relationships, again.”
Read the complete statement from the former First Lady below: