Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, himself a victim of an assassination attempt while campaigning for the executive office, credited divine intervention for former President Donald Trump’s survival after being shot at during a rally on Saturday.
“He was saved, you understand? Just as I was,” Bolsonaro told reporters on Sunday, asked to comment on Saturday’s failed assassination.
“The doctors say I was a miracle. I survived in 2018 given the gravity of the injury and he was saved by a matter of a few centimeters. And I understand that to be something that comes from above.”
Bolsonaro also argued that political violence targets “conservative people” more often than those on the left.
“Only conservative people suffer these kinds of attacks, you notice?” he said, adding that he has no particular knowledge of the attacks and had not communicated directly with Trump, but “the attacks are against good and conservative people.”
Elsewhere, on social media, Bolsonaro sent well-wishes to Trump for a “fast recovery” and promised, “I’ll see you at the inauguration.”
Trump was attending a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday and delivering a speech when, caught on live video, gunshots began ringing and Secret Service agents brought Trump to the ground. Trump later clarified that he was shot in the right ear and otherwise in good health, but only narrowly escaped death as a gunman targeted his head.
The assassination attempt resulted in one death, that of rallygoer Corey Comperatore, a former fire chief in Pennsylvania who was attending with his family and reportedly died shielding his wife and daughter from the bullets.
As Bolsonaro did, Trump has repeatedly credited God for saving his life.
“It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening,” the former president said in a statement on Sunday. Trump similarly told Washington Examiner journalist Salena Zito on Sunday that he believed God had prevented his death.
“That reality is just setting in,” he said. “I rarely look away from the crowd. Had I not done that in that moment, well, we would not be talking today, would we?”
Trump has since promised a unifying speech rallying the country against violence and division during this week’s Republican National Convention, where he is expected to be formally nominated to represent the Party on the presidential ticket.
Bolsonaro also survived an assassination attempt while at a campaign event during the 2018 presidential election. A man later identified as Adélio Bispo de Oliveira – a longtime member of the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL) who told police he was “commanded by God” to kill Bolsonaro – stabbed him during a rally in Minas Gerais. The incident was caught on camera.
Bolsonaro has suffered long-term health consequences from the stabbing, which significantly damaged his digestive system. He has endured six surgeries to repair the wounds and must regularly monitor for any potential blockages where scarring has occurred. He regularly updates the Brazilian people on his medical upkeep on social media, sharing candid shots and videos from hospitals.
Bolsonaro and Trump established close ties during their respective presidencies, which overlapped from 2019 to 2021. Both campaigned as populist conservatives against a hardline socialist establishment and coincided on international issues such as support for Israel and concern for the expanding influence of communist dictatorships in Latin America. During a visit to the United States for the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in March 2023, Bolsonaro praised his relationship with Trump as “simply exceptional.”
Latin American leaders on both sides of the aisle have expressed well-wishes to President Trump and condemned the violence against him throughout the weekend. In Argentina, President Javier Milei – a libertarian and vocal supporter of the former president – described the attack as the result of “the desperation of the international left” in response to Trump’s success in the polls.
“All my support and solidarity to the president and candidate Donald Trump, victim of a COWARDLY assassination attempt that put at risk his life and those of hundreds of people,” Milei wrote on Saturday night during a visit to Idaho.
“The desperation of the international left, that today sees how its nefarious ideology is expiring and is willing to destabilize democracies and promote violence to entrench itself in power, is not surprising,” he continued. “With panic upon losing at the ballot, they resort to terrorism to impose their retrograde and authoritarian agenda”:
On the left, Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro – whose regime Trump targeted with sanctions for its widespread human rights abuses against its people and American citizens – offered prayers to the American people and Trump specifically.
“We have been adversaries but I wish President Trump health and a long life, and I repudiate that attack,” Maduro asserted. “I wish him a speedy recovery and may God bless the people of the United States and give them peace and tranquility.”
Follow Frances Martel on Facebook and Twitter.
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