House Majority Leader Steve Scalise recalled his own brush with death seven years ago in remarks at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday night, just thee days after an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
On June 14, 2017, while practicing in Alexandria, Va., for the annual congressional softball game, a gunman shot Scalise, seriously wounding the congressman. The gunman, who was killed by police, was later determined to be a supporter of left-wing Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
“I need to say something about Saturday’s attempt on President Trump’s life,” Scalise, R-La., told the convention crowd in Milwaukee’s Fiserve Forum.
“Many of you know I was the survivor of a politically motivated shooting in 2017,” the Louisiana lawmaker said. “Not many know that while I was fighting for my life, Donald Trump was one of the first to come and console my family in the hospital.”
He said that’s the kind of leader that America needs.
“That’s the kind of leader he is. Courageous under fire, compassionate toward others,” Scalise said.
He concluded the remarks by saying, “May Donald Trump continue to receive God’s blessing.”