‘I was saved by luck or God,’ Trump says

MILWAUKEE, July 15 (AFP): Former US President Donald Trump has said he is "supposed to be dead" after Saturday night's assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania.
In one of his first interviews since the incident, Mr Trump told conservative US media he felt that he had been saved "by luck or by God".
"The most incredible thing was that I happened to not only turn [my head] but to turn at the exact right time and in just the right amount," he said, adding that the bullet that grazed his ear could have easily killed him.
"I'm supposed to be dead, I'm not supposed to be here," he said.
A spectator was killed in the attack, while two other people were seriously injured. The gunman, who also died, has been named as Thomas Matthew Crooks.
Mr Trump described the moment he looked up at the crowd after realising he had been shot.
"The energy coming from the people there in that moment, they just stood there. It's hard to describe what that felt like, but I knew the world was looking.
"I knew that history would judge this, and I knew I had to let them know we are OK," he told the Washington Examiner.
Speaking as he prepared to board a flight to the upcoming Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he is expected to be confirmed as the party's candidate for president, Mr Trump said he now had a "chance to bring the country together".
He said his speech would now be completely different instead of the "humdinger" aimed mostly at current President Joe Biden's policies he had previously planned.
"Had [Saturday's attack] not happened, this would've been one of the most incredible speeches.
"Honestly, it's going to be a whole different speech now. It is a chance to bring the country together."
At a prayer vigil in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Robert Benning's eyes water when he talks about Donald Trump surviving this weekend's assassination attempt.
"When he got shot, I was like, 'Oh man.' I damn near cried-and then he got up... That proves how much of a fighter he is," the 64-year-old said, gathered at a park in the Midwestern city with other supporters to pray for the Republican presidential candidate.
The Sunday gathering was held downtown, just steps away from the Republican National Convention that kicks off Monday and will officially seal Trump's nomination as the party's candidate against President Joe Biden in November.
Faithful prayed for those on both sides of the political spectrum, even if the event still carried a partisan tone and the occasional culture war rhetoric. "I just bless the Democratic Party. I bless the opposition. I pray that you would show them where they are in error. I pray that you would show them where they are opposing their own creator," said Patrick Casper.
Trump himself has said God "prevented the unthinkable from happening."
King Charles III writes to Trump after assassination attempt
Britain's head of state King Charles III has written to former US president Donald Trump after he survived an assassination attempt, Buckingham Palace said on Monday.
Charles' message was delivered on Sunday via the UK embassy in Washington, the palace said, adding that the contents would be kept private. Trump-set to be confirmed as the Republican Party's candidate in the November presidential election-was hit in the ear by a gunman at an election rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.