Donald Trump has revealed how surviving an assassination attempt a year ago affected him, recounting the ordeal in a bombshell new interview.
In a conversation with the BBC to mark the anniversary of the attempt on his life, the US President said that he tried to think about it as little as possible.
‘I don’t like to think about if it did change me,’ he said, before adding that the moment ‘could be life-changing’.
He said he agreed to the interview with BBC North America Correspondent Gary O’Donoghue, who had been at the campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, because he felt at the time that he had covered the story ‘fairly’.
Detailing how events played out, Trump said: ‘It happened very quickly and I’m not sure I had any conscious thought other than to say that I had to let the people know, because I knew they must’ve thought that it was a disaster.
‘We had 55,000 people, and it was dead silence so I assumed that they expected the worst. And so I had to let them know I was okay so I had to get up as quick as possible,’ he said.
Emergency responders had a stretcher on standby, he added. ‘I said “no thank you.” I actually had a big argument with them, they said they wanted me on a stretcher and I said “no I don’t want that.”‘
The US leader also used the wide-ranging phone call interview to lash out at Vladimir Putin, warning that while he is not yet ‘done’ with the Russian president, he is ‘disappointed’ and does not trust him.
Discussing peace talks with Russia over Ukraine, he said: ‘I thought I had a deal four times.’
When asked whether he had therefore had enough of Putin, he replied: ‘I’m not done with him, but I’m disappointed with him.
‘We had a deal four times and then you go home and you see he’s attacked a nursing home or something or Kyiv, and you say ‘what the hell was that all about’.’
Asked whether he trusted Putin, Trump took a long pause before replying: ‘I trust almost nobody, to be honest with you.’
Pressed on how he would get Putin to ‘stop the bloodshed’ in Ukraine, he insisted: ‘We’re working it.’
But he then vented yet more frustration with the Russian leader: ‘We’ll have a great conversation. I’ll say: ‘That’s good, I’ll think we’re close to getting it done,’ and then he’ll knock down a building in Kyiv.’
Ahead of his trip to London to meet Sir Keir Starmer in July, and state visit to the UK in September, Trump also revealed his feelings about the Prime Minister and the King.
He began with a criticism of how Brexit was handled, but suggested the PM was dealing with it.
‘I think it’s been on the sloppy side, but I think it’s getting straightened out,’ he said.
‘I really like the Prime Minister a lot, even though he’s a liberal. He did a good trade deal with us which a lot of countries haven’t been able to do.
Regarding the state visit, which is planned for a few weeks later, he said: ‘I want to have a good time and respect King Charles because he’s a great gentleman.’
The journalist then questioned Trump over whether he viewed King Charles’ speech to the Canadian parliament as an endorsement of Canada’s independence.
The speech came after Trump repeatedly claimed he could buy the US’ northern neighbour.
‘I didn’t view it as anything. They’re wrapped up with Canada so what’s he going to do, he has no choice,’ he said.
‘We’re negotiating with Canada right now so we’ll see how that’s going to go, I think it’s going to go very well.’
Trump was also asked about the UK’s future on the world stage, to which he replied that he thought it was a ‘great place – you know I own property there’.
Trump affirmed his belief in the so-called ‘special relationship’ between the US and Britain, lauding the two countries’ collaborations on defence and trade.
He labelled the UK ‘a true ally’ and said that the trade deal he made with Starmer was to do with their good relationship – suggesting the same could not be said for the European Union, which has not got a deal.
On mutual defence he said: ‘One of the problems with NATO is we have to fight for them but will they actually fight for us if we did have a war? I’m not sure I can say it.
‘But I will say this, I believe the UK would fight for us. There’s something about it, it’s just been so many years and I do think the relationship is a really great one.
‘I think they would be with us, I’m not sure a lot of the other countries would be, which is unfair because we pay far more than anyone else.’
But Trump also expressed renewed support for NATO during the interview, which came just hours after he met with Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Asked whether he maintained his view that it was ‘obsolete’, he said: ‘I think NATO is now becoming the opposite of that because the alliance was ‘paying their own bills’, he said.
In response to a question over whether he believes in collective defence, he said ‘I do, I think collective defence is fine.’
Trump was at one point pressed on how he could continue to deal with Putin if he did not trust him, to which he replied: ‘It’s not a question of that, I’m disappointed that it’s not been done.’
Trump has appeared increasingly impatient with Putin over the Russian dictator’s refusal to come to the table and talk about a ceasefire.
The US leader yesterday threatened to slap 100 percent tariffs on Russia in 50 days if a deal to end the war isn’t reached.
‘We are very, very unhappy with [Russia], and we’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100 percent,’ he said in the Oval Office meeting with Rutte.
‘I’m disappointed in President Putin. I thought we would’ve had a deal two months ago,’ he added about the proposed peace deal.
Trump also explained he speaks to the Russian leader often, before sharing that it First Lady Melania Trump pointing out Putin’s continued bombing of Ukraine.
‘My conversations with him are always very pleasant. I say, isn’t that very lovely conversation? And then the missiles go off that night, I go home, I tell the first lady… I spoke with Vladimir today, we had a wonderful conversation. She [says]: ‘Oh, really, another city was just hit,” Trump said.
He added of Putin: ‘I don’t want to say he’s an assassin, but he’s a tough guy.’
