Former President Donald Trump shed more light on the capture of a would-be gunman last weekend, telling a Michigan town hall that a woman who thought the suspect "looked like trouble" took photos of the suspect that led to a relatively quick arrest.
Trump regaled the crowd at a town hall event in Flint, Michigan, with Arkansas GOP Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, sharing details that had not been revealed publicly. The town hall was streamed on Newsmax2.
He also praised the Secret Service agents who spotted the suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, in the bushes of his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, where Routh allegedly had a sniper's nest set up while waiting for Trump to pass through during his round.
"Only consequential presidents get shot at," Trump said during the event before telling the story, calling it a "miracle."
Routh took off running after he was spotted and fired at by a Secret Service agent, four shots by Trump's estimation. Trump said a woman spotted Routh running.
"She started following him because she thought he was trouble. He looked different, like trouble. She followed him and parked the car behind his car and started taking pictures of his license plate," Trump said. "Who would do that? She saw something in this guy that was bad.
"If you took 1,000 of these incidents, would even one person do it? She sends pictures to the sheriff's office … and they were able to get this guy within 10 minutes in a high-speed chase. She was really amazing."
Trump said that the "Secret Service did a helluva job" just spotting Routh; an agent happened to see the barrel of a gun protruding from the bushes, Trump said.
"They do need more people, they've been complaining about that for a long time but they did a great job," he said of the embattled Secret Service.
Trump also confirmed that he got a call from his opponent in the upcoming election, Democrat Kamala Harris.
"Got a call from Kamala today. It was very nice," he said, adding, "she couldn't have been nicer."
Trump also referenced the assassination attempt on his life in Pennsylvania in July.
"It's dangerous business being president," he said.
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Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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