By Trevor Hunnicutt
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday reflected on threats to his life as he celebrated a court ruling that handed his administration sweeping power to pursue his policy agenda.
Asked by a reporter about such threats, the Republican suggested that he is occasionally reminded of when he was grazed in the ear by a bullet at a Pennsylvania campaign rally on July 13, 2024.
“I get that throbbing feeling every once in a while,” Trump said. “But you know what? That’s okay. This is a dangerous business.”
He made the comments during a wide-ranging, impromptu White House press conference scheduled to celebrate the U.S. Supreme Court decision that handed him a major victory by curbing federal judges’ power to impose nationwide rulings that block his policies.
On Friday, the businessman-turned-politician described the presidency as riskier than some of the most perilous professions.
“You have race car drivers as an example, 1/10 of 1% die. Bull riders, 1/10 of 1%. That’s not a lot, but it’s – people die. When you’re president, it’s about 5%. If somebody would have told me that, maybe I wouldn’t have run. Okay? This is, this is a very dangerous profession.”
Four of the 45 U.S. presidents have been assassinated. Several more presidents and candidates for the office have been shot.
There have been several threats on Trump’s life. Law enforcement officials said Trump also survived a September 15, 2024, assassination attempt while he was golfing on his course in West Palm Beach, Florida. The suspect in that incident faces five federal charges and has pleaded not guilty.
The July shooting suspect was shot to death by Secret Service agents. One person at the Pennsylvania rally was killed; two others were wounded.
The United States has also separately said Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps at one point attempted to assassinate Trump. Iran, whose nuclear facilities were bombed by U.S. forces last weekend, has denied the allegation.
Trump, serving his second term in office, has pushed an expansive vision of presidential power, sharply attacked his political foes and vowed retribution against them.
The United States is experiencing its most sustained period of political violence since the 1970s. Reuters has documented more than 300 cases of politically motivated violent acts since Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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