In her first television interview in over two years, former first lady Melania Trump opened up about the two assassination attempts on her husband, former President Donald Trump. Speaking exclusively with “Fox & Friends,” Melania described how she learned about the life-threatening incidents and shared her thoughts on the events, calling both survivals “really miracles.”
During the interview, Melania recounted the chilling moment she found out about the first attempt on her husband’s life at a mid-July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The attack unfolded on live television, but she initially missed it.
“I ran to the TV and I [rewound] it and I watched it,” she recalled. “I didn’t really see [it] live, but maybe, you know, three minutes, a few minutes later. But when I saw it, I, you know, it was only… Nobody really knew yet. Because when you see him on the floor, and you don’t know, you don’t know what really happened.”
The first attempt occurred when Thomas Matthew Crooks, the would-be assassin, fired multiple shots at Trump from a rooftop approximately 130 yards away. Although the shots only grazed Trump’s ear, they tragically killed former Pennsylvania fire chief Corey Comperatore and injured two rallygoers, David Dutch and James Copenhaven. Crooks was ultimately killed by a counter sniper.
Melania was in New York when the second attempt took place on September 15, while her husband was playing golf at his West Palm Beach club.
“I saw it on the television and as soon as I saw it on television, I called again, and he was OK because Secret Service were great,” she explained. “The guys that they were, the team, they were fantastic. And I think both of the events, they were really miracles. If you really think about it, July 13th was a miracle. How… like that much, and he could, you know, he could not be with us.”
Melania has been sharing clips on social media ahead of her upcoming memoir, Melania, which is set for release in early October. In a video posted to X (formerly Twitter) on September 10, she expressed her concerns and called for more transparency surrounding the near-fatal events.
“I can’t help but wonder, why didn’t law enforcement officials arrest the shooter before the speech?” she questioned. “There is definitely more to the story, and we need to uncover the truth.”
A bipartisan task force focused on the assassination attempts is scheduled to hold its first public hearing on Thursday, aiming to investigate the security lapses that nearly led to the assassination of a former president and current presidential candidate.
