Former President Donald Trump said the assassination attempt against him last month was fuelled by the rhetoric and the denial of security from the Biden-Harris administration.
As the Secret Service and FBI continue to stonewall probes into the attempt on the former president’s life, Trump argued to Dr. Phil in an interview released Wednesday that other partisan factors led to the attack.
“I’ve always been sort of angry. You know, we talk about Secret Service. He always made it very tough for us to have the proper number of Secret Service people,” Trump said of Biden.
“And I don’t know whose fault it is, but I will tell you, I’d have these massive rallies with 50, 60,000 people more and our people were always fighting to get more security, more Secret Service, and he knew that we didn’t have enough,” he alleged.
“So, you know, when this happened, people would ask, whose fault is it? I think to a certain extent, it’s Biden’s fault and Harris’ fault,” Trump said of the assassination attempt.
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“And I’m the opponent. Look, they were weaponizing the government against me. They brought in the whole DOJ to try and get me,” he said.
“They weren’t too interested in my health and safety,” he argued.
“I would be if I were in their position, but they weren’t very interested. But they-they were always making it, from what I understood, and I could feel it, they were making it very difficult to have proper staffing in terms of Secret Service.”
The Secret Service admitted it had denied some requests by Trump’s team for additional security following Trump’s brush with death.
Dr. Phil asked, “I’m not saying that they wanted you to get shot, but do you think it was okay with them if you did?”
“I don’t know,” Trump answered. “I mean, I don’t know, there’s a lot of hatred.”
Trump listed his achievements as president, adding, “But, you know, when you do things like that, the other side that disagrees with that or for whatever reason doesn’t want to do it, a lot of hatred is generated.”
He also highlighted the Democrat rhetoric of him being a “threat to democracy,” saying, “But they would say that, that was standard line. Just keep saying it. And you know, that can get assassins or potential assassins going. That’s a terrible thing.”
He added:
“But maybe that bullet is because of their rhetoric. You know, it’s really nasty rhetoric.”
Trump argued that he has been attacked instead of discussing actual policy.
“In the Democrat convention, my name was mentioned hundreds of times,” he said.
“And yet my name is mentioned like 300 times. She mentioned my name, I guess, 19 times in her speech alone. 19 times.”
READ: GOP Senator: FBI, Secret Service ‘Driving Suspicion’ by ‘Stonewalling’ Trump Assassination Probe
