Trump reflects on Butler, PA assassination attempt one year later—wants to be remembered as the man who ‘saved our country’
“I didn’t know exactly what was going on. I got whacked. There’s no question about that,” Trump said. “And fortunately, I got down quickly. People were screaming, and I got down quickly, fortunately, because I think they shot eight bullets.”
Jul 13, 2025 minute read
One year after surviving an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, President Donald Trump opened up up about his near-death experience and how he wants history to remember his legacy.
In a recent interview with his daughter-in-law Lara Trump on Fox News’ My View With Lara Trump, the president described the shooting as “unforgettable.”
“I didn’t know exactly what was going on. I got whacked. There’s no question about that,” Trump said. “And fortunately, I got down quickly. People were screaming, and I got down quickly, fortunately, because I think they shot eight bullets.”
The July 2024 shooting marked the closest a US president has come to being killed by an assassin since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981. Trump credited quick action and luck with saving his life but acknowledged flaws in the security response.
“They should have had somebody in the building [Thomas Matthew Crooks shot from], that was a mistake,” he said. “They should have had communications with the local police, they weren’t tied in, and they should have been tied in. So there were mistakes made … But I was satisfied in terms of the bigger plot, the larger plot.”
Despite what he described as massiv missteps, Trump said he retains trust in his security team. “I have great confidence in these people. I know the people. And they’re very talented, very capable. But they had a bad day. And I think they’ll admit that. They had a rough day.”
The interview was released one day before the first anniversary of the attempt on Trump’s life.
Asked how he hopes to be remembered after leaving office, Trump responded: “A good person, but a person that saved our country.”
“I really believed our country was going down for the fall,” he added. “I don’t know if it ever could’ve come back. It was very close to the edge — and I really would like to be known as the man that saved our country.”
Trump has repeatedly slammed the Biden administration over border security, inflation, and foreign policy. He said biden’s poor management of the border helped shape his 2024 campaign and continue to guide his second term.
“When people see the horror show that we had for four years,” Trump said, “it was almost like they tried to kill our country — and the beautiful thing is, now we have the hottest country in the world.”
“We have really good people this time and they get along with each other. They love each other, they love the country, and it’s smoother,” he said.
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