Washington [US], September 18: Former US President Donald Trump has suggested that he became the target of assassination plots due to his influential tenure.
"You know, only influential presidents get shot," Mr. Trump said at a campaign event in Flint, Michigan on September 17, two days after the US Secret Service thwarted a suspected assassination plot against the former president while he was golfing in Florida, the New York Post reported.
"Running for president is a dangerous business," Mr. Trump told the moderator, Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders.
"God is not done with former President Trump . He is the toughest man I know and the warrior our country needs right now," Sanders said.
Mr. Trump said he also had a phone call with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris after the assassination attempt.
"I asked him if he was OK. I also told him what I have said publicly, that there is no place for political violence in our country," Ms. Harris revealed in an interview with the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) on September 17. The White House said Vice President Harris and Mr. Trump had a "cordial and brief" call. Mr. Trump said he had a "very good" call with Ms. Harris.
Suspect Ryan Wesley Routh , 58, was arrested and charged with federal gun-related crimes after US authorities discovered him hiding in bushes near the golf course and pointing a gun at Mr. Trump on September 15.
The New York Times reported on September 17 that former President Trump had a private meeting with acting Director of the US Secret Service Ronald L. Rowe Jr., discussing the establishment of new security measures if Mr. Trump wanted to continue playing golf. Mr. Trump asked if it was safe to continue playing golf. Mr. Rowe Jr. said the US Secret Service determined that the golf course at Andrews Base, Maryland, was a safe place for Mr. Trump because it was a military course.
The assassination attempt on Mr. Trump on September 15 raised questions about the effectiveness of the US Secret Service in protecting important figures. During the event on September 17, Mr. Trump also thanked the US Secret Service. "They did a great job. Now they need more people," he said, according to The Guardian .
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper