'Divine intervention': Viral claim links Trump assassination survival with his 1976 gesture for Lord Jagannath

New Delhi

Donald Trump, in his first reaction after surviving an attempt to his life at a Pennsylvania rally, said "God alone prevented the unthinkable from happening." But even before Trump himself released an update on his well-being, a claim that Trump survived the July 13 assassination attempt due to his contribution to a Jagannath Rath Yatra event decades ago, has gone viral on social media.

Also read | Trump assassination attempt: God alone prevented the unthinkable from happening, says ex-US president

The Jagannath Rath Yatra is considered the oldest and largest chariot festival held in the city of Puri in India's Odisha state. Central to the Jagannath Rath Yatra is the symbolic journey of three deities: Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Balabhadra, and their sister Subhadra on a chariot. Similar chariot journeys — but of symbolic nature — are held in cities worldwide during the Hindu lunar month of ashadh, usually the beginning of rainy season in India.

The grand rath yatra is currently being held in Puri and the rest of the world.

Millions of Hindu devotees pull divine chariot in India’s Puri | Reuters image

Reacting to a post claiming that there was "divine intervention" when Trump survived attempt to his life, ISKCON Kolkata chief Radharamn Das wrote on X: "Yes, for sure it's a divine intervention."

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) official recalled a 1976 incident when Trump, then an emerging real estate tycoon on New York's horizon, lent his support to a symbolic rath yatra that was to be held in New York that year. 

"In July 1976, Donald Trump helped ISKCON devotees organize Rathayatra by providing his train yard for the construction of the raths for free. Today, as the world celebrates the 9-day Jagannath Rathayatra festival, this terrible attack on him and his narrow escape show  Jagannath's intervention," Das wrote on X.

First Jagannath Rath Yatra in New York

According to Radharamn Das, the first chariot procession of Lord Jagannath kicked off on the streets of New York City in 1976, with assistance from the then 30-year-old emerging real-estate mogul in the United States of America: Donald Trump.

Nearly 48 years ago, when the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) was planning to organize the first Rath Yatra in New York City, challenges were galore, Das recalled.

"While the grant of parade permit at the Fifth Avenue was nothing short of a miracle, finding a huge empty site where chariots could be built was also never going to be easy. They knocked at the doors of every person possible, but in vain. It was then that the former US president Donald Trump emerged as a ray of hope for the Krishna devotees," Das added.

Also watch | Donald Trump rally shooting: What we know so far

Das further wrote that the organisers of the New York Rath Yatra went to Trump's office with prasad and a letter to ask for the permission to build the chariot at the site of an old railway yard Trump had just purchased.

"Three days later, Trump’s secretary called up the devotees saying, "I don't know what happened but he read your letter, took a bit of the food you left, and immediately said Sure, why not?," Das recalled.

"Trump had signed the papers giving permission to use the open rail yards for construction of Rath Yatra carts," Das added.

ISKCON official's claim linking Trump surviving the assassination attempt with his 1976 gesture to facilitate the Rath Yatra has gone viral on social media. At the time of filing this report, the post had over 623,00 impressions on X.