Former President Donald Trump paid special tribute to the person who produced the chart that caused him to turn his head away from a would-be assassin's bullet, the New York Post reported. Trump called the unnamed woman a "computer genius" and invited her on stage during his rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Wednesday.
During a July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired a shot likely aimed at the former president's head. However, a split-second change in the position of his head to review the chart saved the former president's life.
"I love that chart. I’m going to sleep with that chart for the rest of my life," Trump, who is the GOP presidential nominee, quipped at Wednesday's rally.
TRUMP: "This chart saved my life." 🙏 pic.twitter.com/7VrnXAoZnH
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 1, 2024
At Wednesday's event, Trump began speaking about illegal immigration and asked for the same chart showing the numbers that became his saving grace earlier this month. "You know, this chart saved my life," Trump said as the crowd cheered.
"Where is that chart? I love that chart," he added. "I’m going to sleep with that chart for the rest of my life. That chart … you know the amazing thing? You know, the people that operate the computers and all the brilliant equipment we have backstage," Trump said.
He then invited the young woman, who he credits for the chart, to come up on stage. "She’s never done this before. She saved my life in a sense," Trump said.
"I said you saved my life. Here she is. Wow," the former president added. It appeared Trump asked her if she wanted to say anything to the crowd. She shook her head no, but then Trump whispered into her ear. The woman then approached the microphone and said, "Hi."
"She’s a computer genius. She saved my life," Trump said.
It's amazing what a difference a split-second movement made for Trump. Instead of taking a kill shot to the head, Trump's ear was clipped by Crooks' bullet only because the former president turned to look at the chart at the last moment.
Aaron Cohen, veteran of the Israeli Special Operations, later explained to Fox News' Trace Gallagher exactly how close to death Trump was that day. "God must have been watching down on the president," Cohen said.
"Snipers are typically trained to shoot into the cerebral cortex of the cerebellum at the top of the brain stem. It incapacitates you, it keeps your hands from moving," Cohen explained. Crooks had an easy and direct shot, which Cohen called "a putt," but he missed it.
"It's very clear to me that had the president's head been straight, and if that round had gone into the ear, it would have been lights out. The fact that he just happened to be turned this way with that shot coming in is what saved his life," Cohen added.
It was a miracle that Trump's life was spared that day. Despite all of the security failures and the determination of one dangerous young man, Trump lived to tell the tale because he turned his head just in time.
