Donald Trump on Tuesday called the presidency “probably the most dangerous profession” when Dr. Phil asked him whether he hugged his kids “extra hard” after his assassination attempt.
“Did you hug your kids extra hard? I mean, has it changed you?” Dr. Phil McGraw asked the former president about the shooting in an interview that was taped at Trump’s Las Vegas hotel.
“A lot of people ask me and a lot of people say, like, have you developed any fear of doing this? Because you're — look, being president is a dangerous job. It's much more dangerous than a race car driver, than anything. It's probably the most dangerous profession, if you think about it. Just go up and down the list,” Trump said, not directly answering the question.
“So, you have 46 and numerous left early or got hit. It's a very dangerous job. I never realized how dangerous,” he continued.
Trump was shot in his ear during a July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The identified shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, narrowly missed Trump’s head on stage. A law enforcement counter-sniper killed Crooks.
The FBI on Wednesday said it had not identified Crooks’ motive or any ideology, and had not found any evidence of potential co-conspirators or individuals with prior knowledge of the plot. But the agency said Crooks looked at various events or targets for a possible attack but decided on the Trump rally as “a target of opportunity.”
