On the eve of the anniversary of dodging an assassination bullet, President Donald Trump laid bare how he wants to be remembered in American history books.
"A good person, but a person that saved our country," Trump told his daughter-in-law Lara Trump in a televised interview Saturday. "I really believed our country was going down for the fall.
"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."
After four years of under former President Joe Biden, Trump hails his quick restart to reshaping America.
"When people see the horror show that we had for four years – it was almost like they tried to kill our country — and the beautiful thing is, now we have the hottest country in the world," Trump continued.
As much as he considers his first administration "phenomenal," Trump added, "now, we're doing things that are even on a different level."
"We have really good people this time and they get along with each other," he said. "They love each other, they love the country, and it’s smoother."
Trump recalled the horror of taking an assassin's bullet to his ear last July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
"Well, it was unforgettable," Trump said. "I didn't know exactly what was going on. I got whacked. There's no question about that. And fortunately, I got down quickly. People were screaming, and I got down quickly, fortunately, because I think they shot eight bullets."
Trump admitted the Biden administration had clear security failures, but he thanks his Secret Service detail in protecting him from the failures of the Biden leaders.
"I have great confidence in these people," Trump said. "They should have had somebody in the building [Thomas Matthew Crooks shot from]; that was a mistake.
"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."
Trump lauded the bravery of the U.S. Secret Service in his close proximity even if the "larger plot" of the Biden Secret Service failed to protect him just hours before the 2024 Republican National Convention was set to make him the GOP nominee.
"But I was satisfied in terms of the bigger plot, the larger plot, and I have great confidence in these people," he concluded. "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."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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