MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN — It took Donald Trump Jr. nearly an hour and a half to know for sure his father was still alive after he was shot at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, he told the Daily Caller in an exclusive interview.
Trump Jr. recalled that he began scouring the internet for clips and information after receiving a phone call that his father had been shot. When he was finally able to get through to his dad, he told him he was the “biggest bad ass I’ve ever seen” and described the conversation as “very heavy.”
“It took me an hour and a half to basically even know that he was alive. I got a call saying that he was shot, that they had no other information and I couldn’t get through. I guess they shut down all the cell phones, all of that. Well, so in that amount of time, I’m trying to scour the internet. I’m trying to figure out what’s going on,” Trump Jr. said. “I saw the video and, he’s alright. It finally got through. And I just said, hey, man, you’re the biggest badass I’ve ever seen. And I met with him, and had a good conversation, you know, very heavy, obviously.”
Trump Jr. also told the Caller that he and his father had worked “for hours” Friday on his speech for the Republican National Convention, and said “that one went out the window” after he was almost killed. The speech instead will be “more unifying and totally different.” He went on to say that his father knows what he has to do and is laser-focused on winning the election.
“I couldn’t have been more proud of him in the moment when he stood up, sort of defiant in the face of fire. But I think that resolve has carried forward. He understands what he has to do. He’s totally focused on getting that done. It’s actually been amazing,” Trump Jr. explained. “You know, obviously it was a very somber moment for him and the family. A great time for some reflection. I had worked with him for four hours on Friday on his speech, and that one went out the window, and he is going to do something much more unifying and totally different.”
“But he will still always be a fighter, because that’s what it requires right now. That’s that resilience that he showed that day, is what allowed him to get peace deals done in the Middle East. That’s what kept our enemies at bay. That stopped them from invading their neighbors. That helped the economy, allowed us to get trade deals done. And that’s what America needs right now,” Trump Jr. continued.
He said his father even had some appreciation for a moment of levity in the aftermath of getting shot. (RELATED: The Cascading Series Of Miracles That Saved Donald Trump’s Life)
“And then in a moment of levity, we’re just sort of trying to break the ice … I just said, listen, most importantly, how’s the hair?”
“‘It’s fine. It’s a little bit bloody.’ And, you know, I think that was a probably a moment that we all needed because my kids and family were around on speaker phone and listening to it,” he said. “And it was tough. I try to try to explain to a ten year old that their grandfather was just shot in the face. It’s not a conversation you ever want to have.”
