Salena Zito: Trump apologized for not doing interview despite being shot

The Washington Examiner’s Salena Zito said former President Donald Trump apologized to her for not conducting an interview he had scheduled with her after attending his Pennsylvania rally, even after he narrowly survived an assassination attempt.

Zito was attending the rally with her daughter and son-in-law on Saturday and was set to interview Trump on his plane ride after the rally. The exclusive interview in which he told Zito about his new convention speech was later conducted by phone.

“He called me yesterday morning and called to see if I was OK, and if my daughter and son-in-law were OK,” Zito said on MSNBC. “And then he apologized for not being able to do the interview, and I basically said, ‘Mr. President, you’ve just been shot, so I’m pretty much OK.’”

The two also discussed how Trump was feeling in the heat of the moment, with the former president arguing that “everything changed” in the few seconds the shooting occurred. Trump also noted how he never turns his head when he delivers speeches, but that he did during his Saturday rally and this was what saved his life.

“Had he been in any other position, even the tiniest amount, he would be dead,” Zito said. “We would be having a different conversation, and he said that. And we talked a little bit about God and a divine intervention, and he believes that that was that moment, and that he needed to rise to that occasion when he gave his speech.”

Trump revealed to the Washington Examiner that he scrapped his initial Republican National Convention speech and has rewritten it to focus on unity. The former president is set to speak at the event this Thursday, where he is expected to become the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential candidate.

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Trump stated on social media that he was initially going to delay his appearance at the convention by two days but opted against this because “I cannot allow a ‘shooter,’ or potential assassin, to force change to scheduling.”

In a separate interview with the Washington Examiner’s Byron York, Trump revealed he initially wanted to continue his speech in Pennsylvania after surviving the shooting. When asked by York if this historic event changed his campaign, Trump immediately answered, “Yes.”