"If I hadn't turned my head, I would not be talking to you right now," former US President Donald Trump told billionaire Elon Musk today, recalling last month's assassination attempt during a rally in Pennsylvania.
The Republican presidential nominee spoke with Musk on the microblogging site, X, where he also discussed the 2024 US presidential elections, his Democratic counterpart Kamala Harris, and climate change.
The live stream, delayed by more than 40 minutes due to a DDOS attack and technical issues, drew in over 1.3 million users.
On Assassination Attempt
On July 13, Trump was shot at in Butler, Pennsylvania, while he was addressing a rally. Twenty-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight shots from a nearby rooftop, hitting Trump in the upper right ear, killing one and injuring three others. The suspect was killed by a Secret Service sniper.
"It was a hard hit. It was very, I guess you would say, surreal, but it wasn't surreal. You know, I was telling somebody, you have instances like this... where you feel it's a surreal situation. And I never felt that way," Trump said of the moment the bullet hit his ear.
"I knew immediately that it was a bullet. I knew immediately that it was at the ear... For those people that don't believe in God, I think we all have to start thinking about that," he added.
On Kamala Harris
Donald Trump launched a scathing attack on Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, criticising her justice system, energy policies, and stance on immigration.
On her justice system, Trump stated, "They set a very bad precedent -- NEVER happened before in this country. It DOES happen in banana republics and Third-World countries."
He added, "We don't have a president right now -- and Kamala is even worse. She's a San Francisco liberal who destroyed that city, destroyed California, and will DESTROY OUR COUNTRY if she's elected."
Regarding energy costs, Trump promised to take action, saying, "The cost of energy HAS TO COME DOWN. We're going to drill, baby, drill."
He warned that if Kamala Harris wins the presidency, "this country will go out of business."
On immigration, Trump stated, "We have millions of people coming in a month and then [Kamala] gets up and tries to pretend she's gonna do something. She had 3.5 years, and they have another 5 months but they won't do anything," adding the Vice President was "incompetent."
"If Kamala gets in, we will have 50-60 million illegals FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD ferried right into our country. We must secure our borders," he said, adding that the "illegals" bring "crime and violence to our backyards."
On Iran And Israel
The former President talked about his past policies on Iran, claiming his administration's measures effectively curtailed Tehran's ability to fund terrorism. He stated, "When I was president, Iran knew not to mess around. Iran was broke -- they had no money for terror." Trump also asserted if he were President, "Israel never would've been attacked."
Donald Trump also announced plans to build an Iron Dome defence system, citing Israel's successful implementation of the technology. "We're going to build an Iron Dome. Israel has it. We're going to have the best Iron Dome in the world. We need it and we're going to make it all in the United States. We're going to have protection," he said.
On Global Warming
Donald Trump expressed his skepticism about climate change, downplaying its significance as a global threat. He stated, "The biggest threat is NOT global warming. The biggest threat is nuclear warming."
He again criticised the current government, saying, "We have some really bad people in the government. We have a modern-day Axis of Evil." "If you have a smart president, we don't have to worry," he added.
Donald Trump was banned from Twitter (now X) after his supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. On February 21, 2022, he launched his own social media platform, Truth Social.
Months later, in November 2022, Elon Musk acquired Twitter and restored Trump's account, @realDonaldTrump.
Last month, the Tesla CEO also endorsed Trump shortly after the former president survived the attempt on his life.
