Trump responds to attacker's 'manifesto': I haven't raped anyone, I am not a pedophile

US President Donald Trump made statements regarding the agenda on the "60 Minutes" program broadcast on CBS. The interview also addressed the armed attack on the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, which was attended by him and his cabinet members.

"I DON'T KNOW IF I WAS THE TARGET"

When asked if the attack was aimed directly at him, Trump said, "I don't know if I was the target. But it seems so. I read a manifesto; it seems the attacker was radicalized. He was a Christian, a person of faith, then he became anti-Christian and went through a lot of changes. Looking at what he wrote, he went through some pretty difficult things. His brother complained about him and I think he reported him to the police. And his sister complained about him in the same way. His family was very worried. He was probably a very sick person," he said.

"THEY GO AFTER PRESIDENTS WHO ACHIEVE THINGS"

When asked why he is targeted by multiple attacks and attempted attacks, Trump said, "They always go after presidents who are effective. They go after presidents who achieve things. If you look at what I have done, we have completely turned this country's direction around. We actually took over a country that was dead, dying, and we made it the most popular country in the world. We had a struggle, a war, whatever you want to call it, with Venezuela. We won that with a very decisive victory and we have a great relationship with Venezuela right now. It has been a very profitable relationship. And now we are in Iran. Other presidents should have done this too, but they chose not to. They should have. They made a disastrous mistake by not doing it," he said.

Trump also touched upon the recent operations against Iran, describing the killing of Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, during his first presidential term as a "big event." He also gave examples through Abraham Lincoln and William McKinley, saying, "Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. McKinley was assassinated. McKinley made the country very rich. People don't realize that. Then Teddy Roosevelt came along and spent the money McKinley had earned, although he was actually very effective too, but he was also assassinated."

HE DESCRIBED WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE ATTACK: WE HEARD A LOUD NOISE

Describing the moment of the attack, Trump said, "We heard a loud noise. It was either a gunshot or a tray full of plates falling to the ground, as happens very often in ballrooms. I was hoping it was a tray, but it wasn't."

Stating that everyone in the hall, including his wife Melania Trump, panicked at that moment, Trump said, "Honestly, I don't want to say this, and people don't like to be told they were scared. But when you face such a situation, who wouldn't be scared? When that moment came, I think my wife had already realized it was a bullet rather than a tray. And I looked at her face in the footage shortly before I came here. I saw that scene. They let me watch it, it was a pretty good close-up. And my wife looked very shaken by what happened," he said.

Regarding what happened after the attack, Trump said, "Actually, it was a bit my fault. I wanted to see what was going on and I wasn't making their job very easy. I wanted to see what was happening. And from that moment on, we had started to realize that this might be a serious problem. It was different from the normal noise you constantly hear in a ballroom. I was surrounded by wonderful people. However, I probably caused them to move a little slower. I said: Wait a minute, wait a minute. Let me take a look. One minute," he said.

Touching on the evacuation, Trump said, "Honestly, I thought: 'You know, I've been through this a few times before.' And my wife hadn't experienced anything of this magnitude. She handled the situation wonderfully. She is a very strong, intelligent person. She grasped the situation. She was aware of what was going on. She listened to what was said. By the way, I did too. When they said 'Get down,' that meant there was a problem. And honestly, I am the president and I listened to what I was told. At the final stage, I dropped to the ground. Then I got up, we went to a waiting room for a while, and I tried to make them continue the event if possible," he said.

"THEIR INTERVENTION WAS INCREDIBLE"

Describing the speed at which the attacker passed through the security checkpoint as "quite incredible," Trump said regarding the intervention of security forces, "When you watch the recording, you can see the attacker passing like a shadow. But their intervention was incredible. Because you could see them drawing their weapons the moment they saw it. They were very professional. They aimed their weapons and then immediately neutralized him. The doors were locked. The room was locked. The ballroom itself, the place where people were, was locked. And the officers did a really great job," he said.

"I WAS NOT WORRIED"

When asked if he was worried because of the attack, Trump said, "I was not worried. That's life. We live in a crazy world. You can really increase your chances of being in a perfect situation, but sometimes things just happen. I wanted to see what was going on because I am the president. I should have hidden. But I wanted to see if I could be of any help. I watched them because I could see what was happening at the door. I also saw a lot of very strong, physically powerful law enforcement officers entering through those doors. That made me feel very safe. There was no way anyone could get past them," he said.

"HIS FAMILY WAS WORRIED"

Speaking about the attacker Cole Thomas Allen, Trump said, "His family members were worried. I think his brother called the police. I think his sister might have called the police too. His parents were quite devastated. He was living with them. I saw his parents opening the door on television last night. I think they were his parents. Look, there are sick people out there. And you need to reduce that risk. But some of these sick people, it's unbelievable, but in some cases, they are also very, very smart. The attacker went to a great school," he said.

"I AM NOT A PEDOPHILE"

Reacting to the accusations in the manifesto, Trump said, "I am not a pedophile. Did you read that garbage from a sick person? I have been associated with things that have nothing to do with me. But I have been completely exonerated. Actually, the ones who are involved with Epstein or other things are your friends on the other side (Democrats)," he said.

Trump also added, "I said to myself, 'You know, I'm going to do this interview and they will probably read that manifesto.' I read the manifesto too. You know, that guy is a sick person. But you should be ashamed of yourself for reading this because I am none of those things that were said," he said.

When the host reminded him that the statements in the manifesto belonged to the attacker, he said, "You shouldn't have read this manifesto here. You are a disgrace. But go ahead, continue. Let's finish the interview. You are shameful," he said.

"THE ATTACKER WAS ALSO QUITE INCOMPETENT"

Regarding the criticism of security vulnerability, Trump said, "The attacker was also quite incompetent because he was caught. Moreover, he was caught quite easily. So I can say that he was also quite incompetent," he said.

Continuing, "I could say 'They should have played better' for a baseball team that won the game 18-0. Those guys did a good job last night. They really did a good job. So, are they making some adjustments? They are. They are learning. They are making adjustments. With the internet, we live in a different world compared to years ago," he said.

Trump said, "The internet has made people mentally ill. At the same time, it's a wonderful thing. It's an extraordinary thing. We are leaders in this. We are leaders in artificial intelligence. This is a wonderful thing. But you always find problems. But this is a different era," he said.

"DEMOCRATS' HATE SPEECH IS DANGEROUS"

Stating that the attacker might have been influenced by the Democrats' rhetoric, Trump said, "You know, even if you go back 20 years, 40 years, 100 years, 200 years, 500 years, this has always existed. People get assassinated. People get injured. People get hurt. I think the Democrats' hate speech is very dangerous. I made our country great again. I mean, this country was dead. 1.5 years ago, Sleepy Joe Biden didn't know what he was doing. He used an automatic signature machine to sign 90 percent of everything. I think the Democrats have really birthed anger and hatred on a massive scale," he said.

Trump also said regarding the Joe Biden era, "Everyone was happy with Biden. The world was happy. Do you know why they were happy? Because they were taking advantage of us, because they were treating the United States as if we were stupid, and they made a lot of money. But they can't do that anymore," he said.

"CONSPIRACY THEORIES EMERGE OVER TIME"

Regarding the claims that the attack was staged, Trump said, "Then October 7 didn't happen, World War II didn't happen, the Holocaust didn't happen, and many other things didn't happen. I haven't heard yet that last night didn't really happen. This usually takes a little longer. They usually wait about two or three months to start saying these things," he said.

"HE MIGHT BE A LONE WOLF"

Stating that the attacker might have acted alone, Trump said, "No. I think this attacker was a 'lone wolf' acting alone. I mean, something else might come up, of course. This was a sick lone wolf. He was a sicko and a very disturbed person. You could see that by looking at his life's journey," he said.

Trump also added, "I mean, a smart man, but a sick man. Yes, that's the problem. I mean, if they weren't smart, our job would be much easier. Some of them are very smart, they walk around, and all they want to do is kill people. People like this are sick and need to be locked up somewhere," he said.

Touching on the picture that emerged after the event, Trump said, "I was really very happy to see the relationship, the friendship, the spirit that emerged after a very bad event happened. I don't know how long it will last. Fortunately, because no one died, the event ended in a much less bad way. No one was injured. I spoke to the Secret Service agent who was shot. He had a bulletproof vest on, and it's incredible that he wasn't harmed," he said.

News Source: İHA