Melania Trump again raises questions about the Butler shooting as she recounts the moments she learned about the assassination attempts

() – Former first lady Melania Trump reflected on her experience with the two assassination attempts against her husband, including the moments she learned about both incidents, while again raising questions about the details of the July shooting at a campaign rally. in Butler, Pennsylvania.

In an extensive interview with Fox News that aired Thursday, the former first lady again said she had “a lot of questions” following the Butler shooting that injured former President Donald Trump, several other people and left one person dead, saying that Coverage of the incident made him feel that the circumstances surrounding the investigation “are not normal.”

“It’s interesting how quiet everyone became. The mainstream media reported on the July 13 event for a few days and then everything went quiet. I had a lot of questions: What is happening? This is not normal,” she said.

His comment in the interview, part of his effort to promote his new memoir, comes after he posted a video on social media earlier this month questioning security at the rally and calling for details of the assassination attempt to be revealed. .

“I can’t help but wonder, why didn’t law enforcement arrest the shooter before the speech?” he said in the video. “There is definitely more to this story and we need to find out the truth.”

In the interview with Fox News, the former first lady also partly blamed Democrats’ rhetoric for the assassination attempts. She said that by labeling her husband a “threat to democracy,” they were “feeding a toxic atmosphere” and she called for the country to unite.

“Is it really surprising that all this heinous violence is targeting my husband, especially when we hear opposition party leaders and the mainstream media branding him a ‘threat to democracy’, calling him vile names? You are just fueling a toxic atmosphere and giving power to all these people who want to hurt you. This has to stop. This has to stop. The country needs to come together,” he said.

Donald Trump was just minutes into giving a speech in Butler on July 13 when a gunman fired eight shots at the stage, wounding the former president’s right ear. Secret Service agents killed the attacker at the scene.

The former president is expected to hold a rally in Butler next week, returning to the city for the first time since the assassination attempt. At the event, he will honor Corey Comperatore, the firefighter who died in the shooting, and two other supporters who were injured, the Trump campaign announced Wednesday.

Melania Trump also told Fox News about the moments in which she found out about both assassination attempts, watching television while she was in a different city than her husband.

“I ran to the TV, turned it back and watched it. I was just a few minutes behind and something, I guess, overcame me, so I didn’t really see it live, but maybe, you know, three minutes, a few minutes later. But when I saw it, you know, it was just, no one really knew yet. Because when you see it on the ground, and you don’t know, you don’t know what really happened,” he said, referring to the Butler shooting.

“I was in New York City, actually, and I saw it on TV,” he said of the second assassination attempt, which occurred at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, last week. “I called again, and he was fine, because the Secret Service was great. The guys that were with him were fantastic.”

The former president was quickly removed from the golf course after a Secret Service agent shot the suspect after spotting him in the bushes on the club’s perimeter. The suspect was later arrested and subsequently charged Tuesday with attempted assassination. He also faces two weapons charges.

Melania Trump said the fact that Trump survived both assassination attempts was miraculous and suggested that he was saved to serve an important purpose for the American people.

“I think both events, they really were miraculous, if you really think about it, the July 13 incident was a miracle. At most – and he might, you know, not be with us,” she said. “I think something was watching over him. “I think he’s – it’s almost like the country really needs him.”

The former first lady’s upcoming memoir, titled “Melania,” will go on sale in October, according to Skyhorse Publishing. Her office, in announcing the book, described it as “a powerful and inspiring story of a woman who has forged her own path, overcome adversity, and defined her personal excellence.”

She has kept a relatively low profile during her husband’s 2024 presidential campaign, making only a handful of public appearances since launching her third bid for the White House in November 2022.

‘s Eric Bradner and Piper Hudspeth Blackburn contributed to this report.