Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt yesterday evening during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Multiple videos shot by bystanders and video journalists showed what happened before, after and the moment when Mr Trump was shot at. Now, a four-month-old video has resurfaced online that predicted the attack on the former US president.

In a video posted on YouTube on March 14, Bradon Biggs spoke about an alleged divine vision he had about the attempt at Trump’s life. Biggs has a YouTube channel where he frequently posts videos on “visions and prophetic warnings”.

“I saw an attempt on his (Donald Trump) life. This bullet flew by his ear and it came so close to his head that it busted his eardrum, and I saw he fell to his knees during this timeframe and started worshipping the lord,” he said.

The 78-year-old had just begun his speech when shots rang out, hitting his right ear and streaking his face with blood. He dropped to his knees behind the podium. When he emerged about a minute later, he mouthed “Fight! Fight! Fight!” pumping his fist in the air.

Many X users are now posting the clip of Biggs in which he also claim that he saw Trump “winning the presidency”.

Recorded on 3/14/24 (verified), Pastor Brandon Biggs recounts a prophecy he saw.

“I saw an attempt on [Trump’s] life that this bullet flew by his ear and it came so close to his head that it busted his ear drum. And I saw, he fell to his knees during this timeframe…” pic.twitter.com/U9iGpNmN7j

— John Greenewald, Jr. (@blackvaultcom) July 14, 2024

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has identified 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks as the “subject involved” in the attempted assassination.

One rally attendee was killed and two other spectators were injured in the shooting. The suspect was shot dead by a Security Services agent.

The shooting occurred less than four months before the November 5 election, when Trump faces an election rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden. Most opinion polls including those by Reuters/Ipsos show the two locked in a close contest.

It was the first shooting of a US president or major party candidate since the 1981 attempted assassination of Republican President Ronald Reagan.

The incident has raised immediate questions about security failures by the Secret Service, which provides former presidents including Trump with lifetime protection.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he is rushed offstage during a rally after an assisation attempt on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images via AFP

As he survived an assassination attempt by a whisker in Pennsylvania on Saturday evening, Republican Donald J. Trump’s image underwent an abrupt makeover. From defending charges of being an instigator and an authoritarian-in-waiting, he will now be seen as a target of political violence.

Mr. Trump’s defiant response in the face of death with his fist raised against the backdrop of an American flag could blunt his Democrat rival Joe Biden’s strategy of a counter polarisation, and reinforce his messianic claims. The bid on Mr. Trump’s life could derail the wobbly script that Mr. Biden struggled to put together after his meltdown in the presidential debate on June 27.

Also Read : Trump rally shooting LIVE

Mr. Trump is seen as a divisive figure of U.S. politics, but Mr. Biden’s re-election bid is also premised on polarisation. With the Democrat base itself conflicted over his politics, Mr. Biden has raised the decibel on rhetoric on domestic and international questions to unify his party. All that adds up to a very elementary claim that Mr. Trump would be worse.

On two polarising domestic questions that can unite the progressives, Mr. Biden has raised the stakes since the debate — gun control and abortion decontrol. The Biden campaign has sought to corner Mr. Trump on both questions. The battleground States that turned by narrow margins in 2016, and 2020, are being addressed on these two questions which would not only charge up the Democrat base but also potentially swing women voters from the Republican side too. Against the backdrop of his accelerating gaffe train, Mr. Biden amplified his messaging on these two questions, contrasting himself with Mr. Trump in stark terms.

‘Washington Playbook’

But this has not stopped the chatter about his fitness to run for another term. In fact, it is growing into a clamour, being repeated by Democrat seniors and American strategists across the political divide. Mr. Biden has sought to talk up the Russia-China axis in recent weeks — though he mistook Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for ‘President Putin’.

Mr. Trump’s first term had significantly disrupted what former President Barack Obama had described as ‘Washington Playbook,’ — the standard, usually militarised response to most global events. By confronting China and appearing friendly to Russia, Mr. Trump’s first term had disrupted this playbook.

Mr. Trump’s first term institutionalised rivalry with China in U.S. strategy, and Mr. Biden turned it into a new cold war by talking up the danger of an axis between Russia and China. This focus on Russia and China also helped Mr. Biden skirt two foreign policy setbacks under his watch — the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan without achieving the stated strategic goals and Israel’s war on Gaza that has scattered the Democrats.

On all these points, Mr. Biden’s claim of legitimacy has been that he is the most effective counter to Mr. Trump and his instincts. The stark scenarios that Mr. Biden portrays involve a double barrel polarisation — a U.S.-led world order threatened by an authoritarian Russia-China axis and the U.S. democracy threatened by fascism fuelled by MAGA [Make America Great Again] Republicans.

Mr. Trump is a common factor in Mr. Biden’s campaign narrative, which shows the former President as a stooge of Mr. Putin. The gunman in Pennsylvania has not merely dismantled this grand narrative of Mr. Biden’s claim of his own inevitability despite his infirmities but also reinforced the talking points of Mr. Trump.

Trump’s narrative

Mr. Trump has always claimed that he is a victim of a deep state conspiracy that undermined his first presidency, and thwarted his re-election in 2020. He has also, repeatedly, alluded to “a divine plan” in his politics — a theme that got an instant boost in social media chatter after his miraculous escape from the bullet on Saturday. Mr. Trump’s other talking points — American weakness, leftist conspiracies, and his claims of being a fighter and a true patriot, all fall in place for a perfect storm of a campaign for him on the eve of the Republican National Convention that begins on Monday in Milwaukee.

Mr. Trump presents himself as a strong leader and accuses Mr. Biden of being weak. By appearing unruffled and combative with blood dripping from his bullet injury, Trump can claim to have lived up to his boast. In the coming weeks, he is sure to use this to amplify his politics.

Washington:

The attempted assassination of former US president Donald Trump with a semi-automatic rifle illustrates once again how easy it is for shooters in the US to get their hands on inexpensive, easy-to-use, military-style weapons.

The AR-15-style rifle is one of the most popular guns in the US. It has also been a common denominator in some of the country’s worst mass shootings.

Here are some key facts about the weapon:

Why Are AR-15s So Lethal?

The AR-15 is a semi-automatic weapon, meaning a user can fire multiple shots in quick succession.

Its cousin, the M-16, has been used by the US military since Vietnam. While some military assault rifles are fully automatic, civilians are prohibited from owning such weapons in most circumstances.

AR-15s fire high-velocity bullets that travel at triple the speed of a handgun round, are accurate over long distances, and cause expansive, devastating wounds to soft tissue and internal organs.

While handguns account for more deaths per year in the United States, AR-15s have frequently been used in high-profile mass shootings.

In May 2022, a former student used an AR-15 to shoot dead nineteen children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

The weapon was also used in October 2017 in Las Vegas, where a gunman massacred 60 people at a music festival.

Cheap And Easy

Buying an AR-15 is easy. Depending on the state of residence, a prospective owner can walk into a gun shop and, after presenting a valid ID, buy a rifle or shotgun provided they can pass a federal background check.

This process looks at a buyer’s criminal history or whether they have ever been committed to a mental institution. But even this cursory check can be flouted in the case of private sales.

The National Rifle Association (NRA) touts the rifles for recreational target practice and home defense, but critics say their lethality means they do not belong in civilian hands.

Part of the reason for the popularity of AR-15s in America is that they are widely customizable, with owners able to add scopes, large-capacity magazines and a plethora of other accessories.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives does not know how many assault weapons there are in America — they are prohibited by federal law from keeping a gun registry database.

A Washington Post poll in 2023 estimated that one in 20 American adults own at least one AR-15.

Banned In Several States

Assault weapons were banned in 1994 under president Bill Clinton, but the restriction lapsed in 2004 amid pressure from the powerful NRA.

Federal efforts at reforms to gun laws have been stymied ever since, with critics arguing that they infringe the constitutional right to own a firearm, enshrined in the Second Amendment.

Several states, like California, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey and Washington DC, have however banned ownership of assault weapons.

California claims its gun safety laws have helped save 19,000 lives in a decade.

In May, President Joe Biden’s administration moved to crack down on firearm sales at gun shows and online that evade federal background checks.

But several Republican-led states quickly sued to block the measure.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Police tape blocks a street in Bethel Park, Pa., that they say is near a residence of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the suspected shooter of former President Donald Trump, Sunday, July 14, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Law enforcement officials tell The Associated Press that bomb-making materials were found inside the vehicle of the man suspected in the Trump rally shooting. There were also bomb-making materials found at his home.

The two officials were not authorised to speak publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

On the heels of an apparent attempt to kill him, former President Donald Trump called Sunday for unity and resilience as shocked leaders across the political divide recoiled from the shooting that left him wounded but “fine” and the gunman and a rally-goer dead.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee said the upper part of his right ear was pierced in the shooting. His aides said he was in “great spirits” and doing well.

“I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,” he wrote on his social media site. “Much bleeding took place.”

In a subsequent post on Sunday, Trump said “it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.”

“In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win,” his post said.

The FBI early Sunday identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as it pressed its investigation. An FBI official said investigators had not yet determined a motive.

Secret Service agents fatally shot Crooks. The gunman attacked from an elevated position outside the rally venue at a farm show in Butler, the agency said.

One attendee was killed, and two spectators were critically wounded, authorities said. All were identified as men.

Investigators believe the weapon had been purchased by Crooks’ father at least six months ago, two law enforcement officials said. Federal agents were still working to understand when and how his son obtained the gun and to gather additional information about Crooks, the officials said.

The officials were not authorised to publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Rising political violence

The attack was the most serious attempt to kill a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981. It drew new attention to concerns about political violence in a deeply polarized U.S. less than four months before the presidential election. And it could alter the tenor and security posture at the Republican National Convention, which begins on Monday in Milwaukee.

Organizers said the convention would proceed as planned.

Trump flew to New Jersey after visiting a local Pennsylvania hospital, landing shortly after midnight at Newark Liberty International Airport.

A video posted by an aide showed the former president leaving his private jet flanked by Secret Service agents and heavily armed members of the agency’s counter-assault team, an unusually visible show of force by his protective detail.

Biden, who is running against Trump, was briefed on the attack and spoke to Trump several hours after the shooting, the White House said. “There’s no place in America for this type of violence,” the president said. “It’s sick. It’s sick.”

Biden late Saturday cut short a weekend at his beach home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, to return to Washington.

Many Republicans quickly blamed the violence on Biden and his allies, arguing that sustained attacks on Trump as a threat to democracy have created a toxic environment. They pointed in particular to a comment Biden made to donors on July 8, saying “it’s time to put Trump in the bullseye.”

Officials said the counter-assault team killed the shooter. The heavily armed tactical team travels everywhere with the president and major party nominees and is meant to confront any active threats while other Secret Service agents focus on safeguarding and evacuating the person at the center of protection.

New Delhi:

Wishing former US President Donald Trump a swift recovery after he survived an assassination attempt yesterday, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said right-wing leaders across the globe “are now active targets of the radical left”. These attacks, he said, “will not be able to defeat the ‘nation first’ ideology”.

“Physical or otherwise, right-wing leaders across the globe are now active targets of the radical left. However, these attacks will not be able to defeat the “nation first” ideology. This is rooted in deep spirituality and inspired by the Sanatan philosophy of ‘Janani Janmabhoomi cha Swargadapi Gariyasi’. My best wishes to Donald Trump as he stands strong,” Mr Sarma posted on X, adding “StandWithTrump” and “NationFirst” as hashtags.

Physical or otherwise, right-wing leaders across the globe are now active targets of the radical left. However, these attacks will not be able to defeat the “nation first” ideology. This is rooted in deep spirituality and inspired by the Sanatan philosophy of “Janani Janmabhoomi…

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) July 14, 2024

Republican leader and former US President Trump was injured in an assassination attempt at Pennsylvania’s Butler yesterday. One person in the audience was killed, and two others injured as a 20-year-old shooter fired multiple rounds targeting the former US President. The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was gunned down. Trump has said a bullet pierced the upper part of his right ear.

US President Joe Biden has strongly condemned the incident. White House officials said he has also spoken to Trump, his biggest opponent in the US election due later this year.

“There’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country… We cannot be like this, we cannot condone this,” Biden told reporters in an emergency briefing after the attack on Trump.

“The idea that there’s political violence, or violence in America like this, is just unheard of. It’s just not appropriate. Everybody, everybody must condemn it. Everybody,” Biden said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condemned the assassination attempt and said violence has no place in politics and democracies.

“Deeply concerned by the attack on my friend, former President Donald Trump. Strongly condemn the incident. Violence has no place in politics and democracies. Wish him speedy recovery,” Prime Minister Modi posted on X.

Moscow:

Moscow called on the United States Sunday to “take stock” of its “policies of incitement to hatred”, while using the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump to denounce support for Ukraine. 

Addressing “those who vote in the United States to supply arms” to Kyiv, the Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova denounced support for Kyiv, which she said stoked “attacks against the Russian president”. 

She added that “perhaps it would be better to use this money to fund the American police and other services that are supposed to ensure law and order in the United States?” 

A Trump victory in the November elections would put into question continued US support for Ukraine as it resists the Russian offensives launched in 2022.

The Republican Party candidate has suggested that he would end the conflict very quickly if he won back the presidency, which Kyiv fears would mean it would be forced to negotiate with Moscow from a weakened position.

Vladimir Putin has said he takes Trump’s comments about ending the war “very seriously”.

Zakharova added that “when other means of getting rid of troublesome president are exhausted, good old Lee Harvey Oswald comes into play”, referring to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, a source of numerous conspiracy theories including that his death was ordered from within the US state apparatus. 

The JFK assassination commission concluded in 1964 that Lee Harvey Oswald, a former Marine who had lived in the Soviet Union, had acted alone.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Saturday said he was shot at during his rally in Pennsylvania and a bullet pierced the upper part of his right ear. 

In his first statement issued on the social media platform Truth Social, 78-year-old Trump thanked the US Secret Service for saving his life. 

“I want to thank the United States Secret Service, and all of Law Enforcement, for their rapid response to the shooting that just took place in Butler, Pennsylvania,” the former president said. 

“Most importantly, I want to extend my condolences to the family of the person at the rally who was killed, and also to the family of another person that was badly injured. It is incredible that such an act can take place in our country,” he said. 

“US Secret Service personnel neutralised the shooter, who is now deceased. The US Secret Service quickly responded with protective measures and Former President Trump is safe. One spectator was killed, and two spectators were critically injured,” he said, adding that this incident is currently under investigation and the Secret Service has notified the FBI. 

Trump said nothing is known at this time about the shooter, who is now dead. 

“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realised then what was happening. God bless America!” Trump said. 

As the bullet hit his ears, the former president was seen ducking with the secret service surrounding him. He could be heard making a few comments on an audio feed from the stage. Trump said, “Let me get my shoes,” as he was escorted to the safe place. He was seen pumping his fist to the public. 

The shocking incident happened two days before the start of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where Trump will formally become the party’s nominee. 

According to The Wall Street Journal, eyewitness Colleen Phillips (62) said she was about eight rows from the stage when she heard the sounds of gunfire. “We had a little prayer circle for President Trump,” Phillips said. “I don’t know what’s wrong with people.” Another eyewitness Mark McEvoy (50) said he thought he heard eight to 10 shots. “I saw Trump go down, but then I saw him get up and he raised his hand that he was OK,” McEvoy told the Financial Daily. — PTI

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump gestures as he is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa.
| Photo Credit: AP

 Shots were fired during a rally speech by Donald Trump, in an incident that investigators are treating as a possible assassination attempt on the former President.

Including Abraham Lincoln and JFK, here are some notable examples of shootings involving U.S. Presidents or presidential candidates:

Donald Trump shooting LIVE updates July 14, 2024

Ronald Reagan (1981)

President Reagan was shot and seriously wounded as he left an event at the Hilton hotel in Washington. The attacker was John Hinckley Jr, who was granted unconditional release in 2022.

Reagan spent twelve days in the hospital. The incident boosted Reagan’s popularity, as he displayed humor and resilience during his recovery.

Gerald Ford (1975)

President Ford was left unscathed in two separate assassination attempts by women in September 1975, both in California and within a span of just 17 days.

George Wallace (1972)

While campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination, Wallace was shot four times and paralyzed for life at a shopping mall in Laurel, Maryland.

The assassination attempt on Wallace, who was known for his segregationist views and populist appeal, highlighted the ongoing political tensions in the US and potential for domestic violence in the Vietnam war era.

Robert F. Kennedy (1968)

President John F. Kennedy’s brother Robert, who was running for the Democratic presidential nomination, was shot and killed at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California.

The assassination had a profound impact on the 1968 presidential race and occurred just two months after the killing of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr, adding to the political turmoil of the late 1960s.

John F. Kennedy (1963)

Riding in his motorcade with his wife Jackie, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald.

The Warren Commission investigating the assassination concluded in 1964 that Lee Harvey Oswald, a former marine who had lived in the Soviet Union, had acted alone.

Many Americans believe the death of JFK began a more violent period in US politics and society, with the Vietnam War build up and the civil rights struggle as a backdrop.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933)

As president-elect, FDR was the target of an assassination attempt in Miami, Florida. He was unharmed, but Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak was killed in the attack.

Theodore Roosevelt (1912)

Like Trump, Teddy Roosevelt was running for the White House as a former President when he was shot in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The bullet, which remained lodged in his chest for the rest of his life, was slowed by the folded 50-page speech and steel eyeglass case in his breast pocket.

Famously, Roosevelt decided to deliver his scheduled speech despite being shot.

William McKinley (1901)

President McKinley was shot and killed by anarchist Leon Czolgosz in Buffalo, New York.

Abraham Lincoln (1865)

Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, a well-known actor and Confederate sympathizer, while watching a play called “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theater in Washington.

Booth’s attack, just days after the Confederate surrender in the Civil War, was part of a larger plot that included attempts to assassinate Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents as he is helped off the stage at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa. on July 13, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 14 joined world leaders in condemning the assassination attempt that targeted former U.S. President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania. Mr. Trump was addressing a campaign rally at Butler Country when a shooter perched on a nearby rooftop fired several gunshots that left one person dead and several injured.

“Deeply concerned by the attack on my friend, former President Donald Trump. Strongly condemn the incident. Violence has no place in politics and democracies. Wish him speedy recovery. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the deceased, those injured and the American people,” said Prime Minister Modi.

Condemning the incident, President Joe Biden said, “There is no place for this kind of violence in America.” Former U.S. President Barack Obama also commented on the alarming development that came in the backdrop of a bitter political campaign.

“There is absolutely no place for political violence in our democracy. Although we don’t yet know exactly what happened, we should all be relieved that former President Trump wasn’t seriously hurt, and use this moment to recommit ourselves to civility and respect in our politics,” said President Obama.

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has also responded to the attack on former President Trump and said, “I’m sickened by the shooting at former President Trump. It cannot be overstated — political violence is never acceptable. My thoughts are with former President Trump, those at the event, and all Americans.”

Meanwhile, U.K.’s newly elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned the incident saying, “Political violence in any form has no place in our societies, and my thoughts are with all the victims of this attack.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he was “shocked by the apparent attack on President Trump.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was “following with apprehension” updates from Pennsylvania and wished Trump a speedy recovery.

The right-wing leader expressed her hope that “in the following months of the electoral campaign, dialogue and responsibility can prevail over hate and violence.”

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also spoke out against political attacks, saying “We must stand firm against any form of violence that challenges democracy.”

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te offered his “sincere condolences” to the shooting victims.

“Political violence of any form is never acceptable in our democracies,” he said.

Australia’s Anthony Albanese said he was “shocked by the terrible scenes” at the Trump campaign event, expressing his relief that the former U.S. president was safe.

“This was an inexcusable attack on the democratic values that Australians and Americans share and the freedom that we treasure,” Mr. Albanese said.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Chris Luxon echoed these views, writing “no country should encounter such political violence.”

(With AFP inputs)