Just five days after surviving an assassination attempt, former President Donald Trump took to the stage at the Republican National Convention Thursday night to accept his party’s nomination for a third consecutive presidential bid.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Friends, delegates, and fellow citizens, I stand
00:05before you this evening with a message of
00:08confidence, strength, and hope.
00:11Four months from now, we will have an incredible
00:14victory, and we will begin the four greatest years in
00:20the history of our country.
00:22Together, we will launch a new era of safety,
00:29prosperity, and freedom for citizens of every race,
00:33religion, color, and creed.
00:36The discord and division in our society must be
00:39healed.
00:40We must heal it quickly.
00:42As Americans, we are bound together by a single
00:45fate and a shared destiny.
00:49We rise together or we fall apart.
00:53I am running to be President for all of
00:57America, not half of America, because there is
01:01no victory in winning for half of America.
01:05So, tonight, with faith and devotion, I proudly
01:12accept your nomination for President of the United
01:16States.
01:17It was a warm, beautiful day in the early evening
01:33in Butler Township in the great Commonwealth of
01:37Pennsylvania.
01:38Music was loudly playing, and the campaign was doing
01:43really well.
01:48I went to the stage, and the crowd was cheering
01:51wildly.
01:52Everybody was happy.
01:54I began speaking very strongly, powerfully, and
01:59happily because I was discussing the great job my
02:05administration did on immigration at the
02:08southern border.
02:09We were very proud of it.
02:12Behind me and to the right was a large screen that
02:22was displaying a chart of border crossings under my
02:27leadership.
02:29The numbers were absolutely amazing.
02:33In order to see the chart, I started to, like this,
02:39turn to my right and was ready to begin a little bit
02:47further turn, which I'm very lucky I didn't do,
02:52when I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt
02:55something hit me really, really hard on my right
03:02ear.
03:04I said to myself, wow, what was that?
03:09It can only be a bullet.
03:12And moved my right hand to my ear, brought it down.
03:16My hand was covered with blood, just absolutely
03:20blood all over the place.
03:23I immediately knew it was very serious that we were
03:26under attack.
03:28And in one movement proceeded to drop to the
03:32ground.
03:34Bullets were continuing to fly as very brave Secret
03:39Service agents rushed to the stage.
03:42And they really did.
03:43They rushed to the stage.
03:44These are great people at great risk, I will tell you.
03:59And pounced on top of me so that I would be
04:03protected.
04:05There was blood pouring everywhere.
04:07And yet, in a certain way, I felt very safe because I
04:11had God on my side.
04:14I felt that.
04:15The amazing thing is that prior to the shot, if I had
04:23not moved my head at that very last instant, the
04:28assassin's bullet would have perfectly hit its mark.
04:33And I would not be here tonight.
04:35We would not be together.
04:38The most incredible aspect of what took place on that
04:41terrible evening in the fading sun was actually
04:46seen later.
04:48In almost all cases, as you probably know, and when
04:53even a single bullet is fired, just a single
04:56bullet, and we had many bullets that were being
04:59fired.
05:00Crowds run for the exits or stampede, but not in
05:05this case.
05:05It was very unusual.
05:07They're incredible people.
05:11Bullets were flying over us, yet I felt serene.
05:16But now the Secret Service agents were putting
05:18themselves in peril.
05:20They were in very dangerous territory.
05:23Bullets were flying right over them, missing them by
05:26a very small amount of inches.
05:29And then it all stopped.
05:32Our Secret Service sniper, from a much greater
05:36distance and with only one bullet used, took the
05:43assassin's life, took him out.
05:45I'm not supposed to be here tonight.
05:50Not supposed to be here.