Grateful, defiant Trump tells 'surreal' assassination attempt survivor at rally: 'I'm supposed to be dead'

A grateful and sometimes defiant Donald Trump told The Post on Sunday that he's “supposed to be dead” as he recalled the chilling moment of a a would-be assassin shot him at a Pennsylvania campaign rally.

The former president shared the “very surreal experience” that almost ended his life during an interview aboard his private jet en route to Milwaukee for the GOP National Convention.

“The doctor at the hospital said he had never seen anything like this, he called it a miracle,” said Trump, who wore a large, loose white bandage covering his right ear. His staff insisted that no photos be taken.

“I'm not supposed to be here, I'm supposed to be dead,” Trump said. “I'm supposed to be dead.”

He said he would have if he hadn't turned his head slightly to the right to read a graphic about illegal immigrants. In that instant what would have been a fatal shot tore a small piece from his ear and spattered blood on his forehead and cheek.

Trump said that as Secret Service agents led him off the stage, he still wanted to continue speaking to his supporters, but the agents told him it wasn't safe and they needed to take him to a hospital.

He marveled at how the officers came flying in as if they were “linebackers” as soon as the shooting started and unbuttoned his long-sleeved white shirt to reveal a large bruise on his right forearm.

He also cleared up a mystery about his shoes. In video of the shooting and the aftermath, as burly officers tried to usher him off the stage for safety, he can be heard saying, “Wait, I want to get my shoes.”

As he explained in the interview, “the officers hit me so hard that my shoes fell off and my shoes are tight,” he said with a smile.

He congratulated Secret Service personnel for their heroic actions and praised them for taking down the shooter, who was perched on a roof about 130 meters from the stage where Trump was speaking.

“They took him out with a shot right between the eyes,” the former president said as he pointed to the bridge of his nose.

“They have done a fantastic job,” he added. “It's surreal for all of us.”

Trump also addressed the incredible photo of him raising his fist and saying “Fight” three times as officers tried to get him off the stage and into an armored SUV.

“A lot of people say it's the most iconic photo they've ever seen,” Trump said. “They're right and I didn't die. You usually have to die to have an iconic image.”

He added: “I just wanted to keep talking, but I got shot.”

The doctor at the local hospital, which has a trauma center, told him he had never seen anyone survive being hit by an AR-15, Trump recalled.

“By luck or by God, a lot of people say it's by God that I'm still here,” he said.

One man in the rally was shot dead and two were injured. Asked if he had thought about attending the funeral of Corey Comperatore, the firefighter who died protecting his family from gunfire, Trump said yes.

Then, turning to the attendants behind him, he said, “Get the numbers, I want to go to the hospital and call all the families.”

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Trump also praised the crowd at the rally, which he put at 55,000, for keeping calm.

“In many places, especially football matches, you hear a single shot, everyone runs. There were a lot of shots here and they stayed.”

He added: “I love them. They are such great people.”

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina spent much of the flight talking to Trump and found his optimism “incredible.”

“It feels like I have a new lease on life,” Graham said.

There is already evidence of that, as Trump recounted that his brush with death had changed his mind about the speech he will deliver Thursday to accept his party's nomination for a third consecutive term.

“I had all prepared an extremely tough, very good speech, all about the corrupt and horrible administration,” he said, then suddenly added, “But I threw it away.”

He said he is preparing a new speech because “I want to try to unite our country.” Folding his arms, he added “but I don't know if this is possible. People are very divided.”

Was it a matter of tone, I asked, or were there policy changes he had in mind?

Political differences, he suggested, are the stumbling block. “Some people want open borders, others don't. Some want men to be able to play on women's sports teams, and some don't.”

Still, he said he remains convinced that success will unite the country, though he did not otherwise define what that success would entail.

He said he appreciated President Biden's call, calling it “good” and calling Biden “very nice.”

He suggested, without offering details, that the campaign between them could be more civil from now on.

He also said that “we hear” that Biden will order the Justice Department to drop its two prosecutions against Trump. So far, there is no public sign of this.

The interview, which included Byron York of the Washington Examiner, lasted more than 30 minutes and concluded as the plane sat on the tarmac after landing in Milwaukee.

At one point, a video of the shooting appeared on a large television screen over my shoulder, which was tuned to CBS News and facing Trump.

Watching him as he watched the big screen, I could tell he was fascinated and he said it was the first time he had watched the 2-minute segment.

More than once he shook his head, as if it bothered him to see how close he was to death.

As for the campaign, he is confident that he is on the road to victory. When I mentioned how the gambling odds had shifted overnight in his favor, he knew the numbers, saying he was given an 85 percent chance of winning by an oddmaker.

He asked York and I what we thought would matter more to voters in the long run: Biden's collapse in his first debate or the assassination attempt.

He did not give his own opinion, but acknowledged that the debate continues to divide Democrats over whether Biden should be the nominee, and that Saturday's shooting will almost certainly increase the swing in his favor as voters absorb it. .

All true, but I think it still needs to close the sale with a lot of people who remain immune to its appeal. Those who have discovered him have missed the ways in which he has run a much more disciplined campaign than the first two.

He has been especially careful to try to curb the power of the abortion issue, which Democrats see as one of their key strengths since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade.

In response, Trump has said he will not support legislation that imposes a national ban and has changed the GOP platform to reflect his belief that whatever limits voters decide in each state, there should be exceptions for rape, incest and mother's health.

Trump was also smart the last two weeks as Democrats ripped Biden after the debate disaster. Instead of getting in the way, he wisely stood on the sidelines, following the old adage that when your opponent kills himself, get out of the way.

Still, the polls have remained stubbornly close, with some polls actually giving Biden a slight edge nationally.

Interestingly, this makes Trump's goal of giving a unifying speech on Thursday all the more essential. Because of the assassination attempt, many voters will be watching to see how it affects him.

He won't have a better chance to show them that he wants to be part of the solution and help close the horrible polarization that threatens to destroy our nation.

A speech, of course, won't bring any miracles, but if he follows his instincts to make this the start of a new, more civil and more intelligent campaign, he'll pull off a double-take.

It would help him in his quest to take back the White House and also help set our great but troubled America on track for a glorious future.

Maybe that's why he was saved, Mr. President.

Do it.