Trump made the comments during a town hall in Michigan, his first public appearance after the apparent assassination plot.
Former President Donald J. Trump spoke about the latest attempt on his life during a town hall in Flint, Michigan, acknowledging “very nice” calls he received from President Joe Biden and his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.
“President Biden called me yesterday,” Trump said during his Sept. 17 conversation with Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who once served as his White House press secretary.
Trump described that call as “very nice.”
“Today, a little while ago, I got a very nice call from Kamala,” he continued. The pro-Trump audience that packed the Dort Financial Center booed.
“It was very, very nice, and we appreciate that—but we have to take back our country, and we have to win,” the former president continued. Boos from the crowd morphed into a mix of cheers and applause.
The former president survived a shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July. The latest assassination plot unfolded in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, was allegedly pointing an AK-47-style rifle at Trump through a perimeter when he was spotted by a Secret Service agent who opened fire. Routh then fled and was apprehended after a witness spotted a man running. The witness photographed the license plate of Routh’s black Nissan and relayed it to authorities.
Trump told the crowd in Flint he wanted to meet that witness.
He also described Routh, a fixture in the media before the assassination attempt for his efforts to recruit Afghan fighters to Ukraine, as “very sophisticated,” noting that his weapon’s serial number had been removed.
Both Biden and Harris have voiced opposition to political violence after the latest incident.
Chris LaCivita, a senior advisor to the Trump campaign, told reporters ahead of the town hall that the former president’s schedule isn’t slowing down after what happened in West Palm Beach.
After reiterating his pledge to impose a 200 percent tariff on cars made in Mexico by Chinese firms, Trump said, “And then you wonder why I get shot at, right?”
“You know, only consequential presidents get shot at,” he continued.
Michigan’s automotive sector was a major theme throughout the evening. Trump said the battleground state had become “an after-thought” in the industry it once led.
He promised the state would “be as big or bigger than you were 50 years ago” thanks to new auto manufacturing attracted by his policies.
Ahead of the town hall, attendees spoke to The Epoch Times about the second attempt on Trump’s life.
“I think this clearly indicates that he is a threat to the system as much as they claim he is, and that’s a good thing. The system needs to be disrupted,” said Davison machinist Marshall Dunn.
“I don’t like that people feel it has to come to that, no matter what party,” said his mother, Linda Freiheit, who lives in Lapeer.
Dave Brown, a Flint resident who programs vehicles, called the latest attempt “atrocious.”
Patrick Doherty described the shooting as “uncalled for.”
“How is it that this has happened twice?” asked Tresa Bundy, who was sitting with her husband, Dan Bundy.
The Epoch Times caught the couple after they sat down in the stands. Tresa said she had been waiting in line since 9:30 a.m.
“I want this America to be the one that I grew up in, and it’s not,” said Tresa.
She hovered on the verge of tears as she reflected on the country her children and grandchildren will inherit.
“God bless Trump and his family, and that the Lord, a second time, kept him safe,” she added.
“How did they find out that Trump was there?” wondered Jona Bandelaria, a brand model from Toledo, Ohio.
She hopes there will be a thorough investigation of what happened.
She was sitting near Gary and Carol Snook, a couple from Fort Myers, Florida who still have a summer house in Michigan.
“We moved down there because of COIVD and all the restrictions here,” Carol said.
Carol, who works in the auto industry, expects a lot of the rank and file in the United Autoworkers Union to get behind Trump despite the union’s support for Harris.
She and her husband, who works in sales, both worry that the vote will not be clean in Michigan, costing the former president the state he won in 2016.
Carol was awed by Trump’s willingness to appear in public so soon after a second attempt on his life was thwarted, in this case, before the former president could be harmed.
“If I was him, I would be hiding under my bed after a second assassination attempt. He’s the most courageous person,” she said.
Andrew Csongradi also marveled at Trump’s willingness to appear so soon after what happened in Florida.
The Saginaw man and his son, Zack, predicted that a successful assassination of Trump would lead to civil unrest.
“Hopefully that doesn’t happen,” he added.