Former US first lady Melania Trump recalled learning that her husband had been bloodied by a would-be assassin's bullet, describing his near-miss as "a miracle" in a rare interview aired Thursday.
The wife of former president Donald Trump told Fox News she was in New York in July when live images of the attack at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania played out on television.
"I ran to the TV, and I rewind it. And I watched it. I was only a few minutes behind... But when I saw it... nobody really knew yet because when you see him on the floor and you don't know, you don't know what really happened," she said.
Trump's bid for a White House return was upended when a 20-year-old gunman opened fire at him from a nearby rooftop at the event in Pennsylvania before the would-be assassin was shot dead by a sniper.
Trump's ear was grazed but he suffered no serious injury.
Melania Trump praised her husband's Secret Service detail -- calling the agents "fantastic" despite criticism over the stunning security failure.
She also briefly recalled her reaction to the suspected second attempt on the 78-year-old Republican's life at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida on September 15.
"I think both of the events, they were really miracles. If you really think about it, July 13 was a miracle," she said.
'Invasion of privacy'
The reclusive, media-shy former first lady was giving her first television interview in two years to promote her memoir, out on October 8, less than a month before the election that could put her husband back in power.
But while politician's spouses often take an active role in campaigning, Melania has largely snubbed her husband's rallies.
The Slovenian-born former model, 54, was also absent from his court hearings in New York, where he was convicted of 34 fraud felonies as part of a scandal involving hush money payments to a porn star.
She was asked about her husband's various criminal cases, and she criticized an FBI search at the couple's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida in 2022.
"It made me angry, yes. Invasion of privacy. And the way it was done... I was really surprised," she said after the bureau entered the property to recover classified documents allegedly stored unlawfully.
She also questioned the first assassination attempt against her husband because she felt it was being brushed under the carpet by the media.
'Tacky'
"I had a lot of questions. What's going on? This is not normal. And is it really shocking that all this outrageous violence goes against my husband?" she said.
"Especially (when) we hear the leaders from the opposition party and mainstream media branding him as a threat to democracy, calling him vile names... This needs to stop. The country needs to unite."
The upcoming 256-page memoir is entitled simply "Melania," and a signed version accompanied by photographs sells for $250.
The ex-first lady and other members of the Trump clan have been criticized over the sheer volume of expensive merchandise they have on sale leveraging the tycoon's political career.
This week the ex-president added a series of $100,000 watches to a trove of merchandise he has on sale, including $100 silver coins made with $ 30 worth of silver, NFT trading cards, $60 Bibles and $400 sneakers.
Melania herself was mocked recently over a $600 gold "Vote Freedom" necklace she was selling, branded as "tacky" by daytime TV host and political commentator Ana Navarro.
"Basically, (the) only time Melania shows her face is to extract money from poor suckers," Navarro said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
