Trump compares himself to Lincoln, JFK after Mar-a-Lago shooting
US President Donald Trump has grouped himself with a pair of historical giants as he claimed only "consequential" commanders-in-chief are targeted by violence in America.
Trump's comments, during an event at the White House attended by supporters, came a day after a 21-year-old man carrying a shotgun was shot and killed at the president's Mar-a-Lago estate.
"You read about all these crazy shooters, but they only go after consequential presidents. They don't go after non-consequential presidents," Trump said.
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US President Donald Trump says would-be assassins only target "consequential" presidents. AP
He pointed to the assassinations of former presidents John F Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln as examples of similarly "consequential" presidents facing violence.
He said Kennedy in particular "represented something very important".
"They said they only go after consequential. So maybe I want to be a little bit less consequential," Trump said.
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Then-candidate Donald Trump was shot at onstage in Pennsylvania in 2024. AP Photo/Evan Vucci
"Can we hold it back a little bit, please? Can we just, like, nice and easy? Could this be a normal president for a little while?"
While a motive is yet to be officially established for 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin's fatal incursion into Mar-a-Lago yesterday, it's not the first time Trump has been targeted.
On the campaign trail in 2024, Trump was shot at while onstage at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
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Austin Tucker Martin has been identified as a suspected gunman shot dead at Mar-a-Lago, Florida. 9News
One rallygoer was killed in the shooting and Trump appeared with a bloody ear after being tackled to the ground by Secret Service agents.
The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by a Secret Service counter sniper.
Another man, Ryan Routh, was recently sentenced to life in prison for attempting to assassinate the then-former president.
Armed with a gun, Routh hid himself on a Palm Beach golf course where Trump was playing, but was discovered by Secret Service agents before he could open fire.
Routh fled but was swiftly arrested.
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