‘God has now spared my life not once, but twice,’ Trump tells supporters

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump told supporters at a rally in New York that God spared him during a second assassination attempt so he could strengthen the nation — and he said he wants to make the 2024 presidential race a debate about the nation’s most significant challenges.

Mr. Trump warned that his rival Vice President Kamala Harris is too liberal for the country, aligned with the “communist left,” and dubbed her the illegal immigrant “invasion president.”

He said New York has become a “third world nation” under Democratic leadership, mocked the idea he lost the 2020 election, and said his would-be assassin was a “violent radical left mobster.”

He also said Iran is working with President Biden to stop his campaign following government reports that Iranian hackers tried to send stolen Trump campaign documents to people associated with the Biden campaign.

“God has now spared my life not once, but twice,” Mr. Trump said at a campaign rally in Long Island. “These encounters with death have not broken my will — they’ve only hardened my resolve to use my time on Earth to Make America Great Again for ALL Americans.”

Mr. Trump said the voters  “deserve a campaign based on the issues” and directed a message to Ms. Harris, “the radical left Democrat politicians and the fake news media.”

“It is time to top the lies, stop the hoaxes, stop the lawfare or the fake lawsuits against me and stop claiming your opponents will turn America into a dictatorship,” he said.  “Give me a break. The fact is I am not a threat to democracy — they are.”

If elected, Mr. Trump also vowed to make the World Trade Center’s ground zero site a national monument protected by the federal government.

Mr. Trump’s trip to New York came after the Secret Service thwarted Ryan Wesley Routh from gunning down Mr. Trump at his golf court in West Palm Peach, Florida.

Mr. Routh, 58, has a criminal past and appeared to be all over the map politically.

He claimed online to have supported Mr. Trump in 2016. He also supported everyone from Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont — who supports Ms. Harris — to former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who supports Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump is locked in a hard-fought battle with Ms. Harris, according to polls showing they are running neck-and-neck in nearly every battleground state, where their campaigns have focused more of their time and energy.

The same polls show that voters trust Mr. Trump more on their top-of-mind issues — most notably anything related to the economy.

Ms. Harris is still running strong, buoyed in part by the issue of abortion and the electorate’s overall fatigue with Mr. Trump and his boisterous brand of politics.

At the rally on Wednesday, Mr. Trump said Ms. Harris wants to raise taxes, weaken law enforcement, and turn a blind eye to more illegal immigration. He said he would lower taxes, bolster law enforcement and strengthen border security.

He also praised the Teamsters for announcing they would not endorse a presidential candidate.

Noting that the sprawling union has steadfastly supported Democratic presidential candidates for decades, Mr. Trump suggested this shows Ms. Harris’s lack of appeal with working-class voters.

“This was a surprise,” he said. “You know what? They looked at her and said I am not going there.”

On Wednesday, Mr. Trump reiterated his claim that he plans on “patriotic” votes to help him win New York, adding that if he does, the “election nationwide is over.”

“So I say to the people of New York, with crime at record levels, with terrorists and criminals pouring in [over the U.S.-Mexico border] and with inflation eating your hearts out: vote for Donald Trump,” he said. “What the hell do you have to lose?”

“Give me a shot.,” he said. “You will have a safe New York within three months.”