An unusually reflective Trump suggests divine intervention in aftermath of rally shooting

CNN —

Former President Donald Trump has responded to the assassination attempt against him in a manner unfamiliar to some of those around him: with a calm and seemingly methodic resolve.

Since being pulled off a Butler, Pennsylvania, stage bloodied and defiant by Secret Service agents, Trump has spent the past two days sharing his harrowing experience with close allies and advisers. In conversations both public and private, Trump has said he is lucky to be alive after Saturday’s rally.

To some, Trump has even suggested divine intervention spared his life.

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“It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. “We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness.”

That sentiment is one Trump has truly internalized, according to some of those who have spoken to him in recent days, and one Trump, who is not an especially religious or spiritual man, has reiterated during the aftermath of Saturday’s traumatic event.

“I’m not supposed to be here, I’m supposed to be dead,” Trump said during an interview with the New York Post Sunday. “By luck or by God, many people are saying it’s by God, I’m still here.”

It’s a conviction that will certainly reinforce the messianic imagery of Trump long promoted by his most ardent supporters and the evangelical communities that have stood by him for years. Indeed, outside the venue Saturday, as rallygoers were evacuated, they passed a truck emblazoned with images of Trump seated in front of Jesus, whose hands rested on the former president’s shoulders.

“God