Following the assassination attempt against him on July 13th, Donald Trump posted to social media that “It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.” It is assumed that he meant God intervened to prevent the assassin’s bullet from striking a fatal blow to him. I didn’t find any record of his being questioned about this statement, but I imagined what kind of dialogue might have ensued, had he been.
Trump: “It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.”
Interviewer: “Are you saying that God changed the course of the bullets that left the would-be assassin’s gun?”
Trump: “It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.”
Interviewer: “If God did prevent the bullets from inflicting a fatal strike to you, then he must be responsible for the people who took the direct hits from the shots that were intended for you.”
Trump: “It was God alone . . .”
Interviewer: “If God could stop the bullets from hitting their target, why couldn’t God have stopped them from being fired in the first place?”
Trump: “It was God . . .”
Interviewer: “Perhaps God could have kept that young man from picking up the gun to begin with. Or maybe God could have stopped him from even planning to be anywhere near the rally.”
Trump: “The Lord works in mysterious ways.”
Interviewer: “Couldn’t God have stopped that young man’s father from ever purchasing the assault rifle, or seen to it that previous efforts to make illegal the purchase of assault rifles in Pennsylvania had been successful?
Trump: “We don’t know the mind of God.”
Interviewer: “Well, apparently you think you do, since you state that God alone prevented the unthinkable from happening.”
Trump: “That’s just the kind of statement I’d expect from the liberal, Godless, Fascist, Communist, free-speech-hating anti-American media. After I’m elected that talk will no longer be tolerated, and you’ll have a steep, steep price to pay.
Interviewer: “Thank you for clarifying your position and your statement, Mr. Trump.