Donald Trump began his lengthy speech at the Republican National Convention Thursday by recounting the assassination attempt against him at a rally last Saturday in Pennsylvania—repeatedly invoking religious imagery in his description of the event.
The former president, taking the stage after a series of bombastic performances by professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, musician and right-wing culture warrior Kid Rock, and UFC CEO Dana White, claimed he would only describe his experience once publicly because “it is actually too painful to tell.”
“I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me really, really hard on my right ear. I said to myself, ‘Wow, what was that? It can only be a bullet.’ I moved my right hand to my ear, I took it down, my hand was covered with blood,” he recalled. “Absolutely blood all over the place. I immediately knew it was very serious, that we were under attack. In one movement I proceeded to drop to the ground, bullets were continuing to fly, as very brave Secret Service agents rushed to the stage.”
