Watch: Trump reveals how wife Melania reacted to murder bid, 'she was left traumatised'
Donald Trump and wife Melania Trump
US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Monday (Jul 29) recounted the horror of the July 13 Pennsylvania assassination attempt, throwing light on how his wife Melania Trump was left "traumatised" by the incident.
Trump said Melania watched the incident live on TV and thought the "worst had happened" as Thomas Matthew Crooks's bullet pierced the former president's right ear.
Speaking with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, Trump said, "When I went down, she thought the worst had happened... because I went down and grabbed my hand and my hand was loaded up with blood."
Trump said the incident "deeply affected" his wife.
"She was watching live... She can't really even talk about it. Traumatised. Which is okay because that means she likes me," Trump said.
The 20-year-old shooter killed one person and injured Trump at the rally in Butler. He was immediately taken down by a Secret Service sniper.
Following the incident, Trump has sought to capitalise on the attempt on his life, with him saying in one rally that he "took a bullet for democracy". In a symbolic gesture, he has announced he will travel again to Butler to hold a rally.
Trump has given mixed reactions to the Secret Service for their handling of the situation. Earlier, he criticised the agents for not communicating to the police about the presence of the shooter on the roof.
“Should’ve been somebody on the roof, should’ve been communication with the local police,” he said. “We’re seeing this guy, who was a very disturbed person… how about the Trump fans who were screaming about him?”
But later, he appeared to be sympathising with the female agent who came under intense criticism from Trump's fans.
"I just want to say one thing about the Secret Service... They were very brave. They were coming," he said.
"Bullets were flying over me. I went down, and they were on top of me... I had a lot of very big, strong people on top of me," Trump further said.
(With inputs from agencies)