Donald Trump has become “the presidential candidate” after his defiant response to the Pennsylvania shooting, it has been claimed.
The 45th US President suffered a blow to his ear after a gunman shot a round of bullets at him during his election campaign rally.
Taking to the stage at the Republican National Convention, the former president spoke for the first time since the shooting, declaring: “The discord and division in our society must be healed. We must heal it quickly.”
Recalling what happened when gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at Trump, he said: “I started to turn to my right, and was ready to begin a further turn, which I’m lucky I didn’t, when I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me, really hard, on my right ear.
Donald Trump has remained defiant after surviving an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania
GBNA / Getty
“There was blood pouring everywhere, and yet, in a certain way I felt very safe because I had God on my side.”
Speaking to GBN America, US Commentator Tim Young said the incident has resulted in a “level up” for Trump and he has gone from “just a presidential candidate to the presidential candidate”.
Young told GBNA: “I think for Trump in particular, he knew why he was there, but now he knows why he’s there, it is an exponential level up for Trump.
“I think he’s become a stronger candidate and I think he’s become a stronger person.”
The Former US President called for ‘unity’ in his first campaign speech since the shooting
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Sharing his thoughts on the Trump campaign going forward ahead of the Democrat convention, Young argued that Trump’s campaign is “even stronger” as a result of the shooting.
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Young explained: “I think the ‘Make America Great Again’ movement is stronger now because of it. He survived an assassination attempt.
“He’s the first president who there’s been an assassination attempt on since Ronald Reagan, and he came out of it.”
Hailing Trump’s resilience and his performance at the Republican convention, Young added: “I don’t know that there’s any human being who gets shot in the head – you can say ear to downplay it – got shot in the head and got up, put his fist in the air and started yelling ‘fight!’
“No one, no human being, I would argue, can do that other than perhaps a fictional character like Rambo.”
Tim Young said ‘no other human’ could survive such an assassination attempt but Donald Trump
GBN America
In response to Young’s remarks, GBNA host Mark Dolan argued that the US voters would need “more substance and policy” to vote on, as opposed to a candidate’s “optics of surviving an assassination attempt”.
Mark pressed Young: “But it’s not substance, is it? It’s not policy. Do you really want somebody to become more electable because of the optics of an attempted assassination?”
Young hit back: “I’ll take it in this case. I like his policy to begin with, and I want him in office.
“I don’t want the Democrats and their current destruction of America to continue, so if we can get him elected on optics, let’s take it. I mean, to be honest, the Democrats have gotten themselves elected on optics for years, so I’ll take this one.”