Donald Trump said God saved him from an assassin's bullet so he could save the United States and possibly the world, repeating the belief among his most ardent supporters that his survival was due to divine intervention.
Trump also tried to shift some of the blame for last month's shooting onto President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, now his presidential rival, in an interview with TV personality Phil McGraw, known as “Dr. Phil.”
The former president's attempts to stoke the idea that his November victory was not only legitimate but predestined appear aimed at boosting turnout among evangelical voters, who strongly support the Republican Party, but some critics worry about how his most ardent supporters would react if he loses again and refuses to accept the election results.
Trump said at the convention that he would only recount the July 13 assassination attempt once because it was “too painful to talk about.” As he recounted it to Dr. Phil, he mused about God's intent in turning his head to look at a graph showing illegal immigration just in time for a bullet to graze his ear without killing him.
“So the only thing I can think of is that God loves our country and I believe we're going to get our country back,” Trump said in an interview on digital TV station McGraw's Merritt Street Media.
“If you look at the crimes and horrors that are happening in the country right now, it's a very bad situation, but it can be solved. It can be solved fairly quickly. It must be a blessing from God. How can you call it luck when it's a one in 20 million chance?”
Asked if he believed he was “saved for a reason,” Trump replied: “Well, I guess God does. We'll just have to wait and see.”
After discussing the Democrats' replacement of Harris with Biden, Trump returned to the same theme, adding, “They've given me a wonderful, fresh opponent. If I win, it will show me that there are incredible forces up high that want me to have a hand in saving. And maybe it's more than saving the country. Maybe it's saving the world. You know, I get along well with tough guys.”
Dr. Phil urged Trump to reconsider his statement that “after four years, you won't have to vote anymore.”
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Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64%) say it's important to have a president who stands up for people of religious belief, according to a Pew Research Center poll conducted this week. Talking about God and Christian faith is especially advantageous for Republican candidates, who support the party with a majority of white Christian voters.
Influenced by her mother's Hindu traditions and her father's Baptist roots, and married into a Jewish family, Harris has spoken only briefly about her faith publicly this year. “My pastor often says that as people of faith, we are called to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God,” she said at a Women's Missionary Society meeting in January.
In her 2019 memoir, The Truths We Hold, Harris wrote, “My earliest memories of biblical teachings are of a loving God who asks us to 'speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves' and 'protect the rights of the poor and needy.'”
Continuing with his religious theme, Trump claimed that if a “really honest vote tabulator” like Jesus was in charge of California's votes, he would win due to his popularity with Hispanic voters. Trump claimed that the Democratic vote totals in the state, which he lost by 5,103,821 votes in 2020, were inflated because some people received seven mail-in ballots.
“I'm looking at California. I gave a speech. I had such a large audience that I said I can't lose California. … If Jesus came down and was the vote tabulator, I guarantee you I would win California, OK?”
McGraw urged Trump to repeat controversial comments he made to a Christian audience last month, when he told them, “In four years, you won't have to vote anymore. We're going to make it so much better, you won't have to vote anymore.”
“They often demonize you. They make a big deal out of the fact that you said you only had to vote once,” McGraw said.
Accused of having authoritarian tendencies, Trump explained that “Christians don't vote very much, for some reason,” and said, “I will fix everything substantially in four years, and then you won't have to vote. It won't matter. In other words, I'm saying you don't have to vote. It doesn't mean there won't be an election.”
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FBI officials said Wednesday that the attempted assassin, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, had searched for information about Trump and his then-rival Biden more than 60 times before registering for the Republican rally.
Officials said Trump had launched a “sustained and measured effort” to attack large rallies before choosing the Pennsylvania rally as a target.
A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Harris appearing to catch up with Trump on the economy and crime, but not on immigration. Trump's plans for jobs and the economy were backed by 43% of voters, while Harris's policies were backed by just 40%. The same poll last month gave Trump an 11-point lead.
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The two candidates were tied on crime, at 40% each, with Harris leading by five points last month.
The poll showed that on immigration, Trump has an eight-point lead at 45% to Harris's 37%.
