Donald Trump reveals ‘why he was assassinated’ in interview with Elon Musk: ‘Because of my stance on…’

Former US President Donald Trump, in an interview with billionaire Elon Musk, revealed the reason behind his assassination attempt that took place about a month ago at a rally.

“I was shot because of my stance on immigration," Trump said, while mentioning his desire to get back to Butler soon.

He recalled, “It was a hard hit. It was very, I guess you would say, surreal, but it wasn't surreal. You know, I was telling somebody, you have instances like this ... where you feel it's a surreal situation. And I never felt that way. I knew immediately that it was a bullet.”

“Because we had a massive crowd there -- a tremendous thousands and thousands of people. ... So I said, 'How many people have been killed?' Because I knew there were other shots being fired,” the Republican candidate added. 

Donald Trump assassination attempt

During a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, a 20-year-old gunman identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on former President Donald Trump with an AR-style assault rifle.

The incident occurred just minutes after Trump had begun speaking. Positioned on the roof of a nearby building, Crooks had a clear view of the stage and fired eight shots before being swiftly neutralized by a Secret Service sniper within 26 seconds of the first gunshot.

Two rally attendees were seriously wounded in the shooting and a 50-year-old firefighter, Corey Comperatore, of Freeport, Pennsylvania, was shot dead.

Donald Trump-Elon Musk interview

Musk's much-awaited interview with Trump was marred by technical glitches, with people unable to join the audio conversation on X's Spaces platform. The interview was scheduled to begin at 8 pm EDT on Monday, however, it finally began at 8.42 pm.

As the interview started, Trump said other global leaders such as Russia's Vladimir Putin, North Korea's Kim Jong Un are “top of their game," and would not be able to believe themselves when they see “Sleepy Joe", or Kamala Harris.

“Everything I did, she says she is doing it. Kamala Harris is “fake”. The number of illegal migrants crossing the border has gone higher,” he said. 

He also enumerated the reasons why he thinks Joe Biden was the worst US president ever. He then said the Iran-Israel crisis, and Afghanistan issue could have been avoided, but “ Biden was the worst". 

"It would be around 50-60 million people," from all over the world including Africa, Asia, Middle East and other regions," he said, while speaking about the number of people crossing the borders has increased.

(With inputs from agencies)