He attributed his great good luck to the Almighty because he knows that there is nothing right-wing agnostics and atheists like more than to be convinced that God is on their side. The man never known to crack open a Bible or cite any verse of Scripture remarked of the Secret Service agents guarding him
These are great people at great risk, I will tell you, and pounced on top of me so that I would be protected. There was blood pouring everywhere, and yet in a certain way I felt very safe because I had God on my side. I felt that.
A moment later, he added
I’m not supposed to be here tonight. Not supposed to be here.
[Crowd chants “Yes, you are.”]
Thank you. But I’m not. And I’ll tell you. I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty God.
And watching the reports over the last few days, many people say it was a providential moment. Probably was.
The family of Corey Comperatore probably is less certain that the incident was "a providential moment." NBC 10 Philadelphia reports
Thousands of mourners paid their respects at a Pennsylvania banquet hall Thursday to the family of a former fire chief who was shot and killed during the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
Trump sent a note of condolence hailing Corey Comperatore as a hero, a copy of which was displayed at the visitation. He did not attend the memorial, which was the second of two public events memorializing and celebrating Comperatore’s life. Hundreds of people gathered Wednesday at a vigil for him at an auto racing track.
A private funeral is scheduled for Friday. Trump is not going to the funeral because of Secret Service concerns, according to a source familiar who was not authorized to speak publicly.
So, let's see if we understand this. The Secret Service is required to go where the person it protects goes. It now protects presidential candidate Donald Trump, who at his personal convention on Thursday praised the "very brave Secret Service agents (who) rushed to the stage" and "are great people at great risk" who "pounced on top of me so that I would be protected." That same Donald Trump is now an odds-on favorite to become the USA's next president- and as he promises, a "dictator on day one."
And now, according to a news report "Trump is not going to the funeral because of Secret Service concerns." In all likelihood, that concern is that the next president does not want to go to the funeral. If he did ask to go and the SS turned him down, citizen Trump- infamous for being vindictive- would remember when he became President Trump.
We don't know why he did not want to go. In 2018 he cancelled an appearance at Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris, evidently because he didn't want his hair to get mussed, though he did ask "Why should I go to that cemetery. It's filled with losers." In 2020 he skipped the Atlanta funeral service and Washington, D.C. memorial for John Lewis because, probably, it was John Lewis.
Nor did he attend ceremonies for Corey Comperatore, who as an attendee of the Trump rally, presumably was an ardent fan of the GOP presidential candidate. Instead, he spent most of the time eulogizing himself, convincing his fans that his survival (by a bullet that barely grazed him) was an act of God.
Abraham Lincoln once reportedly remarked "Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side...." Trump, instead, displayed his characteristic humility, asserting "I had God on my side."
In October of 2017, Yahoo News correspondent Jon Ward noted
At some of Trump’s lowest moments over the past few months, conservative religious leaders have materialized at the White House to literally lay hands on him in prayer.
The photos of these moments have a powerful resonance for many American Christians who are steeped in a fundamentalist form of the faith that is individualistic, populist and places a high value on outward forms of religiosity. Their faith practice is characterized by a fascination with emotional experience and with big, dramatic gestures and story lines.
We've seen always seen photos because that is precisely what they are: photo-ops "with big, dramatic gestures and story lines."
Which is what we were regaled with in the acceptance speech in Milwaukee. The whole unity shtick at the beginning was totally for show, completely insincere, and and contrary to the spirit of Matthew 6:5-7:
And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
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