Former First Lady Melania Trump broke her silence Sunday morning following the assassination attempt against her husband Donald, saying her family came to the “brink of devastating change.”
The former first lady said a “monster” saw “my husband as an inhuman political machine” before opening fire. She added that “political games are inferior to love.”
“When I watched that violent bullet strike my husband, Donald, I realized my life, and Barron’s life, were on the brink of devastating change. I am grateful to the brave secret service agents and law enforcement officials who risked their own lives to protect my husband,” she said in a statement.
A gunman has been identified as 20-year-old Pennsylvanian Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was killed by law enforcement the Secret Service, according to the Secret Service.
The FBI is investigating the situation. Former President Donald Trump, who had blood coming out of his ear after the shooting, was described as “fine” afterward by his campaign and is expected to attend the Republican National Convention this week.
Trump, 78, made a defiant fist pump before being whisked away by the Secret Service after the attack and was brought to the nearby Butler Memorial Hospital for treatment. He was subsequently seen walking down the steps of “Trump Force One,” his Boeing 757 late Saturday.
The attack on the former president marked the closest an assassin came to killing a US president since the shooting of Ronald Reagan in 1981.
At least one spectator is confirmed dead and two others were critically wounded, according to authorities.
“To the families of the innocent victims who are now suffering from this heinous act, I humbly offer my sincerest sympathy. Your need to summon your inner strength for such a terrible reason saddens me,” Melania added.
Melania, who has largely kept out of the spotlight during her husband’s reelection bid this cycle, decried the negative characterizations of him that have circulated.
“The core facets of my husband’s life — his human side — were buried below the political machine. Donald, the generous and caring man who I have been with through the best of times and the worst of times,” she said.
Trump campaign officials have set up a GoFundMe page for the victims of the shooting. The former president, himself, also sent his well wishes to the victims and their families, while thanking Secret Service for their efforts to keep him safe.
“I want to thank The United States Secret Service, and all of law enforcement, for their rapid response on the shooting that just took place in Butler, Pennsylvania,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Saturday.
“Most importantly, I want to extend my condolences to the family of the person at the Rally who was killed, and also to the family of another person that was badly injured.”
President Biden, 81, also denounced the attack and had a brief call with his chief political rival to express his sympathies.
The FBI is investigating the shooting as an assassination attempt.
