Donald Trump’s Last-Second Move Saved His Life, Expert SaysDonald Trump’s Last-Second Move Saved His Life, Expert Says Former President Donald Trump narrowly escaped a life-threatening assassination attempt on Saturday night at a rally in Pennsylvania thanks to a quick head turn, according to an expert. Trump, 78, was addressing the crowd at the Butler Farm Show grounds when Thomas Matthew Crooks (20) fired shots at him from an AK-style weapon. Fortunately, Trump’s head was slightly turned to the right as he looked at a jumbotron, which deflected the bullet that could have hit his skull. “Snipers are typically trained to shoot into the cerebellar cortex, which is at the top of the brain stem,” Israeli special operations veteran Aaron Cohen explained. “It paralyzes you, it makes your hands unable to move.” According to Cohen, the distance of the shot, approximately 130 yards, and the ease with which it could be made with a simple optic highlight the danger Trump faced. Had his head been in a different position, the outcome could have been catastrophic. “The fact that he happened to be turned this way when that shot came in saved his life,” Cohen said. While Trump’s quick reaction saved him, some former federal agents criticized the Secret Service’s response to the incident. They argued that the delay in removing Trump from the stage and escorting him to safety could have exposed him to further danger. “It took that long to get that vehicle out of that area,” said retired FBI agent Jonathan Gilliam. “From a protection perspective, it was a lifetime.” Former FBI Director Chris Swecker echoed Gilliam’s concerns, calling the Secret Service’s response a “security breach.” He said that outdoor events pose unique challenges, and the Secret Service should have handled the situation differently. “They should have grabbed him and (left the stage). He wanted to wait for his shoes. That’s great, but ‘No, we’re going,'” Swecker said. Despite the incident, Trump’s campaign has stated that he will attend the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee as planned this week.
Donald Trump turned his head slightly to look into a jumbotron at the same time shots rang out at his Pennsylvania rally Saturday night — and that split-second move saved his life, an expert says.
Trump, 78, turned to his right as he addressed the crowd at the Butler Farm Show grounds because he “wanted to use the jumbotron and reference it,” senior adviser Dan Scavino Jr. said Sunday.
The slight adjustment came as Thomas Matthew Crooks (20) aimed and fired at the former president’s head. The bullet narrowly missed the Republican front-runner’s ear instead of through his skull, Israeli special operations veteran Aaron Cohen told Fox News.
Matthew Thomas Crooks opened fire with an AK-style weapon before being shot and killed by the Secret Service. Obtained by NY Post
“Snipers are typically trained to shoot into the cerebellar cortex, which is at the top of the brain stem,” Cohen explained to host Trace Gallagher.
“It paralyzes you, it makes your hands unable to move. … It’s the distance of the shot. A hundred and thirty yards. That’s a putt. Anybody can put a two, two, three, optic on a target that distance away and hit it. It’s not a difficult shot to make,” he said.
If Trump’s head had been up when Crooks fired, “it would have been a tragedy,” Cohen said.
“The fact that he happened to be turned this way when that shot came in saved his life,” the special operations expert said.
Donald Trump was hit in the ear by a bullet that narrowly missed his skull. AP
But while Trump’s last-minute decision spared his life, some former federal agents said the desperate attempt to get him off the stage after shots rang out could have put the real estate mogul in even greater danger.
“I’ve worked with the Secret Service before, and when I saw this happen, I couldn’t believe how long it took them to get him off that stage and into the car. And it took that long to get that vehicle out of that area,” retired FBI agent Jonathan Gilliam told “Fox & Friends First” on Sunday.
“From a protection perspective, it was a lifetime,” he said.
“A lot of people in the news … didn’t want to be critical of the Secret Service, but when I look back at this … I’m stunned by the way things played out, because it seemed like … Trump’s defenses and the Secret Service moves were made up as they went along, and that’s not the way this elite service should be prepared for this and should be executing these tactics and these types of situations,” Gilliam said.
Trump, 78, turned his head to the right as the gunman fired the shot that killed him, experts said. Anadolu via Getty Images
Former FBI Director Chris Swecker agreed with Gilliam’s view, saying the attempt on Trump’s life was “almost a lethal shot.”
“If there had been a second shooter, there would have been plenty of opportunities to take him out again, so this violates all the rules of Secret Service protocol and the general protection of executives in general,” he explained.
Security at the rally was “a failure from start to finish,” Swecker said.
“The primary mission of the Secret Service is to prevent this kind of action and then respond as quickly as possible to get him out of harm’s way. Neither of those things happened here, so I don’t want to make any harsh judgments, but it was absolutely a security breach,” he said.
An injured Trump raised his fist to the crowd as the Secret Service led him off the stage. AP
Retired Secret Service agent Jeff James said outdoor events present unique security challenges and the Secret Service should have handled things differently than it did.
“When they got to (Trump), they should have grabbed him and (left the stage). He wanted to wait for his shoes. That’s great, but ‘No, we’re going,’” he told the network.
“If I had one criticism, that would be it. I would have liked to see him get off the stage and into the armored vehicles quicker. Once you’re in those armored vehicles and you’re locked in, you’re pretty safe and you can move pretty quickly at pretty high speed if you need to.”
Trump was being examined at Butler Memorial Hospital after the shooting. He landed in New Jersey early Sunday morning.
The Republican presidential candidate is undeterred by Saturday night’s incident and will attend the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week as planned, his campaign said.
