'I haven’t wondered why': Trump admits he doesn’t think about supporter killed at PA rally

10 September 2024

During a lengthy interview with New York Magazine, former President Donald Trump made a stunning admission: He's too preoccupied with his business and his presidential aspirations to think about the supporter killed by his would-be assassin.

New York's Olivia Nuzzi recently sat down with the ex-president for a wide-ranging conversation as the 2024 presidential election cycle hits the final 60-day stretch. One major topic they touched on was the attempt on Trump's life in July at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. During his speech, a lone gunman perched on a nearby rooftop who evaded Trump's security detail took several shots at the ex-president with an AR-style rifle before he was eventually killed by a Secret Service agent.

While Trump emerged relatively unscathed outside of a bloody ear, one of his supporters — 50 year-old volunteer firefighter Corey Comperatore — was fatally shot. Two other attendees at that rally were seriously injured. When Nuzzi asked Trump if he had pondered why God spared him but not the devoted husband and father of two, Trump revealed that he didn't give the topic much thought.

"No, I haven’t wondered why. I should wonder why," Trump said. "I’ve been so — I’ve been working very hard on the campaign, and I also run a business during the time that I’m here, you know, with my family. It’s a great business. It’s an incredible business. But I am involved in running that, but mostly it’s the campaign because, you know, you have to do that. That’s got to be the focus. And my children run the business now and do a good job. Eric runs it, and Don helps him and runs it, also different aspects of it."

"But no, I’ve never asked myself that. I’ve never thought of it," he continued. "I don’t like thinking about it too much, because it’s almost like you have to get on with your life. So I don’t really like thinking about that too much."

During the interview, Trump stressed that he was a big fan of Comperatore, and raised between $5 million and $6 million for both Comperatore's widow, Helen, and the families of the other injured victims. He mentioned that Comperatore's widow personally received a significant sum after her husband was murdered.

"I already gave the wife a million dollars, and she was great. I mean, look, she couldn’t believe it, but she would rather have her husband," Trump told Nuzzi, who noted that the former president "kept talking and talking about the money."

"I don’t care how successful, it’s a check for a million dollars,” he added. “And I gave it to her. She was — she couldn’t believe it."

The former president honored Comperatore at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin ahead of his nomination acceptance speech, even kissing the deceased fireman's helmet onstage. Just a few days later, President Joe Biden would announce his exit from the 2024 race and his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. The assassination attempt — and Trump's coronation in Milwaukee — was suddenly yesterday's news. Trump made sure to complain to Nuzzi about how "unfair" the new circumstances of the election were.

"They took him out, and they put somebody else in. You know, they put a new candidate in, a candidate that we didn’t focus on at all. We never even got the — we had this big convention, and we were all focused on Biden, and now, now you take a look at it, and we were focused on a person that wasn’t running anymore," Trump said. "So it’s quite an unfair situation — but it’s okay."

Click here to read Nuzzi's full interview with Trump in New York (subscription required).

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