President Says He Avoids Dwelling on Past Attacks, While Vowing to Campaign Hard for Republicans in the November Midterm Elections
President Donald Trump said in a Sunday interview that he is not living in fear despite multiple assassination attempts and suggested that he does not regret entering politics in 2015.
"It's a dangerous profession," Trump told Fox News's Trey Gowdy.
"Only consequential presidents get shot, or shot at."
There have been multiple attempts on the president's life in recent years, most notably in July 2024, when Thomas Crooks fired at him from a rooftop as Trump was speaking at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, injuring his right ear.
Later that year, another man pointed a rifle through a fence while Trump was playing golf at his course in West Palm Beach, Florida, leading to the arrest and conviction of Ryan Routh. He was sentenced to life in prison for the attempted assassination of the president.
Trump has also faced other threats, including an incident in April 2026 in which an armed suspect breached a security gate outside the White House Correspondents' Association dinner gala at a Washington hotel. A Secret Service agent was injured.
The suspect, Cole Thomas Allen, pleaded not guilty during a May court appearance to charges of attempting to assassinate Trump.
Pressed further on being shot in the ear, Trump said: “An honest answer is I purposely don’t think about it. I don’t want to think about it. … If you think about it, you’re not going to do a very good job.”
“I’m surrounded by very good people. The Secret Service has been great. Law enforcement has been great.”
During the interview, Trump was also asked whether, if he had to do it all over again, he would launch his political career. Gowdy referenced Trump's descent down the Trump Tower escalator in New York City in 2015, when he announced his first presidential campaign.
“I had a wonderful life, but, you know, I had a little expression that you may have heard before: 'Make America great again’,” he said, suggesting that he would still enter politics. “There is nothing more important … make America great again.”
When asked about the midterms, Trump said he believes the Republican Party would perform well when ballots are cast in the November elections.
"I think we're gonna do well. I'm gonna go campaign," Trump told Fox News, saying he would campaign in a manner similar to his approach during the 2024 elections.
“Some people like me more than they like the party,” he said. “I’m going to go out and I’m going to campaign like I did for myself. And I’m going to hope that people think that I’m on the ballot.”
Trump made similar comments about the GOP and the midterms earlier in August, saying that voters are frustrated with the Republican Party. The party’s most pressing issue, he said, is that he is not on the ballot.
“They’re angry at Republicans,” Trump told Punchbowl News in an interview published on Aug. 7. “But they’re not angry at me. They’re not angry at me, but they are angry at Republicans.”
Historically, the party of the sitting president has typically lost seats during midterm elections over the past 80 or so years, according to the U.S. Vote Foundation.
