Split-second turn could have saved Trump's life, expert says: 'God must have been watching down on' him
A split-second decision could have saved former President Donald Trump's life during the shocking assassination attempt at his outdoor campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, according to Israeli Special Operations veteran Aaron Cohen.
Hours after the incident, Cohen told Fox News' Trace Gallagher that, if the former president had not turned his head when the shot was fired, he would not have survived.
"God must have been watching down on the president," he said.
"Snipers are typically trained to shoot into the cerebral cortex of the cerebellum at the top of the brain stem. It incapacitates you, it keeps your hands from moving… It's about the distance of the shot. One hundred-thirty yards. That's a putt. Anyone can put a two, two, three, optic on a target from that distance and hit it. It's not a difficult shot to make…"
TRUMP SAYS HE WAS ‘SHOT WITH A BULLET’ IN ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AT PENNSYLVANIA RALLY
FILE - A screen grab captured from a video shows Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump appears to be injured after gunshots were reported as he is rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Penn. (Trump Campaign Office / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
He continued, "It's very clear to me that had the president's head been straight, and if that round had gone into the ear, it would have been lights out. The fact that he just happened to be turned this way with that shot coming in is what saved his life."
Some estimate the shot that grazed the former president's ear came within mere centimeters of being fatal.
Cohen went on to briefly mention security "failures" surrounding the incident, but was reluctant to delve deeper into criticizing Secret Service for somehow allowing the would-be assassin with an AR-style rifle to get close enough to injure Trump.
Some former FBI and Secret Service agents are dumbfounded by the security breakdown, however, with some alleging the shoddy effort to get Trump out of the danger zone could have created a far more disastrous outcome if multiple threats had been present.
"Having worked with the Secret Service before, as I was watching this unfold, I could not believe how long this played out before they got him off of that stage into the car, and then it took that vehicle that long to depart that area. It was a lifetime from a protection standpoint," former FBI Special Agent Jonathan Gilliam said during a special Sunday broadcast of "Fox & Friends First."
FILE - Former president Donald Trump is assisted offstage during a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump at Butler Farm Show Inc. on Saturday, July 13, 2024 in Butler, Penn. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
"A lot of people on the news… didn't want to be critical of the Secret Service but, as I watch this again… I'm astounded at the way things played out because it appeared as though it was being that the defense of Trump and the movements off were being made up as they went along, and that is not the way this elite service should be prepared for this and carrying out these tactics and this type of situation."
Former Assistant FBI Director Chris Swecker, who also appeared on the channel early Sunday, sounded off on Secret Service's response to the assassination attempt.
"It was almost a kill shot as it was," he told Carley Shimkus and Todd Piro.
"If there had been a second shooter, there would have been plenty of opportunity to take him out again, so this breaks every rule of the Secret Service protocol and just general executive protection in general."
Swecker criticized security at Saturday's event as a "breakdown from start to finish."
SUSPECTED TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT SHINES LIGHT ON RALLY SECURITY
"The primary mission of the Secret Service is to prevent this type of action and then react as swiftly as they can to get him out of the danger zone. Neither happened here, so I don't want to issue harsh judgments, but it was definitely a security breakdown," he added.
Retired Secret Service agent Jeff James was also stunned by the way everything unfolded.
He joined "Fox & Friends Weekend" on the heels of the other guests, where he noted that outdoor rallies complicate security and said he would have liked to see some things done differently.
"Once they got to him, they should have grabbed him and [exited the stage]. He wanted to wait for his shoes. That's great, but no, we're going. If I had one criticism, that would be it. I would have liked to see him off the stage and into the armored vehicles more quickly. Once you get in those armored vehicles, and you're locked down, you're pretty safe, and you can get moving at a pretty high rate of speed quickly if you had to," he said.
Authorities have identified the suspected gunman as 20-year-old Pennsylvania native Thomas Matthew Crooks, who lived approximately an hour away from the rally site in Bethel Park, according to Reuters.