- The House Speaker was heading to Mar-a-Lago when shots were fired.
- He said Trump was in “good spirits” shortly afterward.
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday revealed some of his private interactions with Donald Trump moments after a gunman pointed a high-powered rifle at the former president as he played golf at his Florida golf course.
Johnson, who was heading to Mar-a-Lago at the time officers opened fire and posted a photo with Trump after the shocking assassination attempt, said he and his wife Kelly spoke to Trump about what he called “Providence” and about saving Trump’s life.
“He was in very good spirits, as you can imagine, that’s how he is. He’s very resilient and I’m very grateful to see him,” Johnson said.
“There is no leader in American history who has been so attacked and remained so strong and so resilient,” Johnson said. He told Fox News Monday morning. “It’s unique. He’s not going to stop fighting for the American people? It was really encouraging for us to sit down and talk to him right after that happened.”
Johnson was asked about Trump’s earlier comments that he believes his life was saved when he turned his head to look at a large screen during the campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he was shot by a gunman, the bullet grazing his ear.
He said he arrived at Trump’s Florida club shortly after the former president returned from his golf course.
According to Johnson, an evangelical Christian, it wasn’t luck that allowed Trump to survive, after authorities said a Secret Service agent protecting Trump spotted the suspect and shot him. Police quickly stopped Ryan Wesley Routh on I-95 after an alert man identified someone fleeing the scene after throwing a gun.
House Speaker Mike Johnson visited former President Donald Trump shortly after the assassination attempt in West Palm Beach on Sunday.
“It’s an extraordinary thing. Kelly and I talked to him about it at length. Because it’s something that no one can deny. God has spared his life twice,” Johnson said.
“I told him that he reminded me of the bulletproof George Washington, our first president, who avoided being shot as an army colonel, the famous incident in the French and Indian War where everyone shot at him and the bullet holes went right through his jacket and didn’t take him down, that event ironically taking place less than 50 miles from where President Trump was shot on stage in Butler, Pennsylvania,” he said.
Johnson and his wife Welly visited Trump, who was still wearing golf shoes after the shooting.
Johnson, an evangelical Christian, thanked God for protecting Trump. He also credited an alert Secret Service agent
“These things are not accidents, it’s not luck. I think it’s Providence and we’ve talked about it. It’s something extraordinary. It would touch the heart of any man. I think it’s touched the president. And it’s something he’s processing right now.”
Johnson demanded that Trump get “every resource available for his protection” and described what he and Trump learned from the acting Secret Service director in a phone call.
“And what I understand happened is that the officers who were with him yesterday saw the barrel of that gun in the bushes on a golf course. I mean, you know, it’s a hard thing to spot. Fortunately, unlike Butler, they didn’t stop. They immediately pulled out their guns and fired.
He said the officers “immediately drew their weapons and fired,” prompting the alleged shooter tossed his own weapon into the bushes and fled.
Johnson demanded that Trump be given “every available asset” and specifically mentioned an “allocation of manpower.”
Johnson said he agreed with Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision to have Florida conduct its own investigation, even as the FBI conducts its own probe. “We all need to look into it — local, state and federal governments.”
The House speaker said he was “very optimistic about November” when asked about the possibility of Republicans holding the House and said he and Trump talked about making victory in every national election “too big to rig” — a statement that suggests voter fraud.