Melania Trump again raises questions about Butler’s shooting as she describes the moments she learned of the assassination attempts

CNN
—

Former first lady Melania Trump spoke about her experience with the two assassination attempts on her husband, including the moments she learned about both incidents, while also raising renewed questions about the details of the July shooting at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

In a wide-ranging interview with Fox News that aired Thursday, the former first lady again said she has “a lot of questions” following the Butler shooting that injured former President Donald Trump and several others and left one person dead. She said that because of the coverage of the incident, she feels the circumstances surrounding the investigation are “not normal.”

“It’s interesting how quiet it’s become – all the mainstream media reported on the events of July 13 for a few days and then it went quiet. So I had a lot of questions: What’s going on? This is – this is not normal,” she said.

Her comments in the interview are part of her efforts to promote her new memoir. She previously posted a video on social media earlier this month questioning security at the rally and demanding that details of the attempted assassination be made public.

“I wonder why the police didn’t arrest the shooter before the speech,” she said in the video. “There is definitely more to this story and we need to find out the truth.”

In the interview with Fox News, the former first lady blamed the assassination attempts on Democrats’ rhetoric. She said that by calling her husband a “threat to democracy,” they were “fomenting a toxic atmosphere” and called for the country to unite.

“Is it really shocking that all this outrageous violence is taking place against my husband, especially that we hear the leaders of the opposition party and the mainstream media branding him a ‘threat to democracy’ and calling him vile names. They are just creating a toxic atmosphere and giving power to all these people who want to harm him. This must stop. This must stop. The country must unite,” she said.

Donald Trump was giving a speech in Butler on July 13 when a gunman fired eight shots at the stage, causing the former president’s right ear to bleed. Secret Service agents killed the gunman at the scene.

The former president is expected to hold a rally in Butler next week, marking his first return to the city since the assassination. At the event, he will honor Corey Comperatore, the firefighter killed in the shooting, and two other injured supporters, the Trump campaign said Wednesday.

Melania Trump also described to Fox News the moments when she learned about the two assassination attempts – through television while she was in a different city than her husband.

“I ran to the TV, rewound and watched it. I was only a couple of minutes late, and I guess it kind of missed me, so I didn’t really see it live, but maybe, you know, three minutes, a couple of minutes later. But when I saw it, it – you know, it was only – nobody really knew yet. Because when you see him lying on the ground, you don’t know what really happened,” she said of Butler’s shooting.

“I was actually in New York City and saw it on TV,” she said of the second assassination attempt, which took place last week at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida. “I called again and he was OK because the Secret Service was great. The people that were with him were fantastic.”

The former president was quickly escorted away from the golf course after a Secret Service agent shot the suspect after spotting him in the bushes on the edge of the club. The suspect was later arrested and charged with attempted murder on Tuesday. He also faces two weapons charges.

Melania Trump called it a miracle that Trump survived both assassination attempts and suggested that he was spared in order to fulfill an important task for the American people.

“I think both events were really miracles. When you really think about it, the July 13 incident was a miracle. So much – and he couldn’t, you know, he couldn’t be with us,” she said. “I think something was watching over him. I think he’s – it’s almost like the country really needs him.”

The former first lady’s memoir, titled “Melania,” is set to hit stores in October, according to Skyhorse Publishing. Her office described the book in making the announcement as “a powerful and inspiring story of a woman who forged her own path, overcame adversity and defined personal excellence.”

She has maintained a relatively low profile throughout her husband’s 2024 presidential campaign, making only a few public appearances since he began his third run for the White House in November 2022.

CNN’s Eric Bradner and Piper Hudspeth Blackburn contributed to this report.