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President Donald Trump shared strong words during his New York rally on Wednesday in response to two recent assassination attempts against him.
The 45th president noted the threats to end his life and his response to fight for America.
“So, as you know, three days ago, there was yet another assassination attempt on my life,” Trump told the crowd in Uniondale. “It was the second one in eight weeks by a violent radical left mobster.”
“And God has now spared my life,” he added. “It must have been God, thank you. Not once, but twice. … These encounters with death have not broken my will. They have really given me a much bigger and stronger mission.”
Trump expressed his belief that the attacks on his life have made his fight for the nation stronger.
“They’ve only hardened my resolve to use my time on earth to make America great again for all Americans,” Trump continued.
“To put America first. We’re going to put America first,” he said, with the crowd cheering in response.
The audience broke out into chants of, “USA! USA! USA!”
Trump also told the audience that he has the chance to flip New York red. Republicans have not won the state in a presidential election since Ronald Reagan’s second term in 1984.
The rally marked Trump’s first since Sunday’s assassination attempt against him at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. A Secret Service agent spotted a rifle barrel as Trump was golfing, with agents firing shots.
Ryan Routh, 58, fled from the scene in a vehicle. He was later arrested by law enforcement on I-95. He was found with a rifle that included a scope, two backpacks and a GoPro camera.
Routh appeared in court and remains under custody on two gun charges. The FBI is leading the investigation.
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis also signed an executive order calling for his own state to conduct an investigation. The state’s district attorney is expected to lead in the effort that vows to provide full transparency to the people of Florida.
The assassination attempt was the second against Trump in two months. A bullet grazed his right ear during a Butler, Pennsylvania, rally in July that killed one man and seriously wounded two others. The 20-year-old shooter, Thomas Crooks, was killed by sniper fire.