In RNC speech, Trump recounts surviving assassination attempt: "A providential moment"

Washington — Former President Donald Trump on Thursday recounted for the first time the assassination attempt at his rally in Pennsylvania and said he initially believed he was under attack but survived because of the "grace of almighty God."

"So many people have asked me what happened, 'tell us what happened please,' and therefore, I'll tell you exactly what happened, and you'll never hear it from me a second time, because it's actually too painful to tell,"  Trump told the crowd gathered for the final day of the Republican National Convention in a speech formally accepting the party's presidential nomination.

The former president said he began speaking "very strongly, powerfully and happily" while discussing his administration's efforts to curtail illegal immigration at the southern border, and began to turn to his right toward a chart displaying border crossings when he heard a "loud whizzing sound" and felt something hit him in the right ear.