God protected Donald Trump from an assassin’s bullet to ensure his reelection in November, House Speaker Mike Johnson told a gathering of young conservatives in Washington on Tuesday.
“God’s protection, I think it’s clear and undeniable that’s what happened,” Mr. Johnson said, referring to an attempt on the former president’s life at a July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The Republican House leader told college activists at the Young America’s Foundation conference that as he watched the assassination attempt from his Louisiana home, Mr. Trump reminded him of George Washington, “the bulletproof president” who had two horses shot from under him in 1755 during the French and Indian War.
“Washington recognized that he had something more to do and that God had protected him,” said Mr. Johnson, a former official in the Southern Baptist Convention.
He said he informed Mr. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, that the battle with Washington “took place less than 50 miles” from Butler, with both occurring in Pennsylvania.
“And Mr. President, it appears obvious now you will get a second term to lead the greatest nation in the history of the world,” Mr. Johnson said he told the former president, drawing a round of applause.
For the most part, college students attending the YAF convention gave Mr. Johnson a warm reception, with some leading a standing ovation as he took the podium.
Nevertheless, one young woman who identified herself as a pro-life student at the University of Dallas challenged the House speaker during a Q&A over the removal of a national abortion ban from the Republican party platform.
Many political analysts view the issue as a liability for the former president as he campaigns against the presumptive Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.
“But I don’t think it waters down our party,” Mr. Johnson said at the conference. “See, we are the party of life and the party of families and the party of human flourishing.”
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.
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