Donald Trump’s campaign team said it had “full confidence” in the Secret Service as the former president left for his first outdoor rally since the failed assassination attempt on Friday – but they were still praying for his safety.
“We pray every day. But I think the Secret Service is really smart and cautious,” a Trump aide told the Washington Post on Thursday at a reporter meeting in West Palm Beach.
Trump travels to Bozeman, Montana, on Friday night to campaign. Although the state is not critical swing territory, his team said he plans to support Republican candidates in close races. Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy is neck and neck with Democratic Senator Jon Tester.
The 45th president was shot in the ear on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania – the gunman narrowly missed his head. The gunman, 20-year-old Matthew Crooks, was positioned on a nearby rooftop and fired into the crowd. Trump was hit, firefighter Corey Comparatore was killed and protesters David Dutch and James Copenhaver were injured.
The Trump official said they did not believe Trump suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after the shooting.
“I think he feels very bad and has worked hard to honor the injured and the firefighter who died,” the Trump adviser said. “As for himself, I think he feels lucky and blessed.”
The former president wore a white bandage over his ear in the weeks following the shooting, but recently removed it and shows no visible injuries.
The Post asked Trump for his ear during his press conference on Thursday at Mar-a-Lago.
He said he had “recovered quite well” and was “getting better quickly” even though it had been a “hellish injection.”
The former president added that he has no hearing damage because “the bullet did not hit that spot,” and that he has a “small” scar “on the top” of his ear where the bullet grazed him.
