Republicans attribute 'divine intervention' for Trump's narrow escape and subsequent rise to martyrdom

Allies of the former president are embracing divine intervention — “the hand of God” — to help explain how Donald Trump survived a harrowing assassination attempt during his Saturday rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

His daughter, Ivanka, said she believed her late mother was watching over Trump during the assassination attempt. Rep. Carlos Antonio Giménez (R-Fla.) told Fox News that Trump survived by “the grace of God,” while Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) said “divine intervention” and the “protective hand” of God kept the former president alive.

And, House Speaker Mike Johnson stated it plainly: “GOD protected President Trump yesterday.”

Trump himself praised God for saving his life, writing early Sunday morning that it was “God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.” Pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. reiterated in a Sunday note to supporters that “the grace of God” saved Trump from “a coward’s bullet.”

The outpouring from his allies represents an extraordinary moment in American politics and for Trump, who will be formally declared the Republican Party’s nominee at the GOP convention in Milwaukee this week. His supporters' — many top Republican officials — embrace of divine intervention further solidifies Trump’s position in the party as not just its leader, but as one who is viewed as chosen by, perhaps, a higher power to save the country.

A bullet grazed the former president’s right ear last night, wounding him but not seriously. The suspected shooter, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, killed one rallygoer and injured at least two others, according to law enforcement officials. Crooks was also killed.

Less than 24 hours after the attack, many Republicans leaned in on their own religion — describing the incident as a “miracle.” Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) posted an illustration on X of an angel steering Trump away from the bullet.

“Yesterday there were miracles, and I think the hand of God was there too,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told Fox & Friends Weekend on Sunday, relating the shooting to his personal experience of being shot while practicing with the Republican congressional baseball team in 2017. “You can just see one centimeter over and we’re having a very different conversation.”

Former Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, a strong Trump supporter, also pointed out the fateful position of the bullet, calling it “Divide Providence.” Ramaswamy added it was “one hair’s width away from deathblow to a nation.”

And while Republicans pointed to God being a saving hand from the assassination attempt, they also blamed violent rhetoric as the inspiration for the attack.

“God saved our Republic last night. Extreme voices have stoked the flames in America,” moderate Republican Rep. Brandon Williams (R-N.Y.) posted on X. “This photo will go down in history as a moment of extreme moral clarity—Standing defiantly against extreme hate.”

That image — showing Trump with a raised fist and blood trickling down his face — already instilled the former president’s view as a martyr from among his base of supporters. Republicans also did not shy away from drawing historical parallels. Johnson said God once protected George Washington from a gunfire ambush in 1755, which also took place in Pennsylvania in July.

“God spared Ronald Reagan for a reason. God spared Donald Trump for a reason. God doesn’t miss,” Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) wrote on X.

Leaders across the world rushed to send prayers for Trump on the evening of the shooting, including close friends Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Peter Westmacott, U.K. ambassador to Washington between 2012 and 2016, told POLITICO that Trump supporters see the former president’s survival as “a manna from heaven,” which he said “may change the game a bit.”

“It is very good for the victimhood, the martyrdom line that Donald Trump has been using during his campaign,” Westmacott said. “I’m sorry to have to say that — it’s a cynical observation. But that is the thought that one has after the horror you feel of, ‘Oh dear, is this another political assassination?’”

Kelly Garrity, Samantha Latson and Mason Boycott-Owen contributed to this report.