“The attempt to end my husband’s life was a horrible, distressing experience,” the former first lady said in the cryptic 34-second video posted to her X account on Tuesday.
She continued, “Now the silence around it feels heavy. I can’t help but wonder — why didn’t law enforcement officials arrest the shooter before the speech? There is definitely more to this story, and we need to uncover the truth.”
The video then prompted viewers to go to her website to pre-order her memoir dubbed, “Melania,” which comes out next month.
Representatives for Melania Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Business Insider about her remarks and whether her new book delves into the assassination attempt on her husband.
The former first lady has mostly stayed off the 2024 campaign trail. She skipped Trump’s June debate with President Joe Biden, eventually leading the president to drop out of the race entirely. She did attend the final night of the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, though, unlike in 2016 and 2020, she did not deliver a speech.
The video was released just hours before Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, faces off with Democratic rival Vice President Kamala Harris in their first presidential debate.
The former president was hit in his ear by a bullet on July 13 after 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire while the former president was speaking at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The shooter — who was ultimately shot dead by the Secret Service — fired off eight bullets from a rooftop just minutes into the rally, leaving his ear bloodied, one attendee dead and two others injured.
Some right-wing Trump backers have pushed conspiracy theories around the assassination attempt, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. Greene accused the Democratic Party of trying “to murder President Trump” in the wake of the assassination.
The FBI said late last month that it has still not identified Crooks’ motive. That hasn’t stopped Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, the Republican vice presidential nominee, from pushing the envelope by saying an unspecified “they” tried to kill Donald Trump.
In the aftermath of the incident, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned following intense scrutiny and calls for her to step down.
Cheatle, in testimony before Congress, called the attempted assassination “the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades.”
Multiple investigations into the assassination attempt are ongoing, including a bipartisan task force comprised of House lawmakers. Donald Trump has resumed holding outdoor rallies while speaking behind a bulletproof glass. He has repeatedly said that he would like to return to Butler for a rally before the election.
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