Melania Trump has condemned the man who authorities say tried to assassinate her husband, Donald, on Saturday as “a monster”.
The former first lady’s comments came in a statement on Sunday which, like others from the former president’s family members, expressed support for law enforcement in their response to Saturday’s shooting at Trump rally in Pennsylvania. The shooting killed one spectator and wounded two before Secret Service agents shot the attacker dead.
“When I watched that violent bullet strike my husband, Donald, I realized my life, and [my son] Barron’s life, were on the brink of devastating change,” she said in her statement. “I am grateful to the brave secret service agents and law enforcement officials who risked their own lives to protect my husband.”
She described the shooter – identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20 – as “a monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine”.
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) July 14, 2024
Separately, Trump’s daughter Ivanka published a statement that alluded to the two-year anniversary of the death of her mother, Ivana, her father’s ex-wife.
“I believe she was watching over Dad last night during the attempt on his life,” Ivanka Trump wrote Sunday.
Other Trump family members who have shared their reactions are his sons Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump.
Donald Trump Jr tweeted a photo of his father holding his fist in the air while being guarded by Secret Service agents in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, stating: “He’ll never stop fighting for America.”
Eric Trump also posted the photo of his father, adding, “This is the fighter America needs!”
Trump’s ex-wife Marla Maples, who has recently floated the possibility of running as his vice-presidential candidate as he seeks a return to the Oval Office in November, asked for prayers for him on X.
She also requested prayers on behalf of her daughter with Trump, Tiffany, adding: “We … know he is leading on behalf of all of us.”
Republican, Democratic, and world leaders have issued statements condemning the shooting, which Trump said resulted in a bullet piercing the upper part of his right ear.
Republicans have speculated the shooter was politically motivated, but federal authorities so far have not publicly disclosed a possible motive.
The attempt has raised security concerns, and safety measures across the US political landscape are likely to beef up.
The Secret Service director, Kimberly Cheatle, has been invited to testify about Saturday’s shooting in front of the US House oversight committee on 22 July.
