A split-second move saved Donald Trump’s life during an assassination attempt on him at his Pennsylvania rally on Saturday, July 13. When shots rang out, Trump slightly turned his head to look at a jumbotron – a move that ensured he was not killed.
Senior adviser Dan Scavino Jr. mentioned this in an X post, saying, “Thank God last nights rally was one in which President Trump wanted to use and reference the jumbotron, causing him to slightly move his head at the moment shots were fired. He is grateful for all of the prayers, love, and support out there, as he prepares for the GOP Convention in Wisconsin!”
The slight adjustment was made by the former president when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire, shooting at Trump’s head. The bullet skimmed the former president’s ear instead of penetrating his skull, Israeli Special Operations veteran Aaron Cohen told Fox News.
{{/usCountry}}The slight adjustment was made by the former president when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire, shooting at Trump’s head. The bullet skimmed the former president’s ear instead of penetrating his skull, Israeli Special Operations veteran Aaron Cohen told Fox News.
{{/usCountry}}“Snipers are typically trained to shoot into the cerebral cortex of the cerebellum at the top of the brain stem,” Cohen told Trace Gallagher.
“It incapacitates you, it keeps your hands from moving. … It’s about the distance of the shot. One hundred thirty yards. That’s a putt. Anyone can put a two, two, three, optic on a target from that distance and hit it. It’s not a difficult shot to make,” he added.
Cohen explained that “it would have been lights out” if Trump’s head had been straight when the shots were fired. “The fact that he just happened to be turned this way with that shot coming in is what saved his life,” Cohen said.
‘It was a lifetime from a protection standpoint’
Meanwhile, some former federal agents have said that the desperate attempt to escort Trump off the stage after Crooks opened fire could have placed him in more serious danger. “Having worked with the Secret Service before, as I was watching this unfold, I could not believe how long this played out before they got him off of that stage into the car, and then it took that vehicle that long to depart that area,” former FBI Special Agent Jonathan Gilliam told Fox & Friends First, adding, “It was a lifetime from a protection standpoint.”
“A lot of people on the news … didn’t want to be critical of the Secret Service, but as I watch this again … I’m astounded at the way things played out because it appeared as though … the defense of Trump and the movements off were being made up as they went along, and that is not the way this elite service should be prepared for this and carrying out these tactics and this type of situation,” Gilliam said.
Echoing Gilliam’s thoughts, former FBI Director Chris Swecker said that the attempt on the former president’s life was “almost a kill shot.” “If there had been a second shooter, there would have been plenty of opportunity to take him out again, so this breaks every rule of the Secret Service protocol and just general executive protection in general,” he said, adding that the security at the rally was a “breakdown from start to finish.”
“The primary mission of the Secret Service is to prevent this type of action and then react as swiftly as they can to get him out of the danger zone. Neither happened here, so I don’t want to issue harsh judgments, but it was definitely a security breakdown,” Swecker said.
According to retired Secret Service Agent Jeff James believes the Secret Service should have had a different approach. “Once they got to [Trump], they should have grabbed him and [exited the stage]. He wanted to wait for his shoes. That’s great, but, ‘No, we’re going,’” James said.
“If I had one criticism, that would be it. I would have liked to see him off the stage and into the armored vehicles more quickly. Once you get in those armored vehicles and you’re locked down, you’re pretty safe, and you can get moving at a pretty high rate of speed quickly if you had to,” he added.