
It’s now been a year since Donald Trump was nearly killed during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, and the emotional words his wife Melania shared after the attack have resurfaced.
On July 13, 2024, a 20-year-old man named Thomas Matthew Crooks managed to position himself on the roof of a nearby building while Trump was giving a speech to a crowd of supporters.
Armed with an AR-15-style rifle, Crooks fired multiple shots toward the former president. One bullet grazed Trump’s ear, leaving him bloodied and shaken on stage.
Security immediately jumped into action, with Secret Service agents rushing to protect Trump and take him off stage. Crooks was shot and killed at the scene by law enforcement. A few weeks later, another man was caught near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida carrying an AK-47-style weapon. Authorities believed he also intended to harm Trump.
These weren’t isolated events either. According to Newsweek, there have been at least nine attempts on Trump’s life since he first took office. Still, despite the threats and violence, Trump continued his campaign and eventually defeated Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. He returned to the White House in January 2025.
After the near-assassination in Pennsylvania, Melania Trump opened up in rare comments about the constant danger her husband has faced. In an interview with Fox News, she spoke about the toll it has taken on her and their son Barron, who was 19 at the time.
Melania explained that even before the physical threats, she saw the emotional and political attacks on Trump during his presidency. She believed the media was hostile and that critics feared his strength and leadership. “As soon as he announced he was running again, everything changed,” she said. “And I knew it wouldn’t be pleasant.
She also admitted that she was constantly anxious about what might happen next. “You always fear the worst,” she said. “And then it happened.” Referring to the recent assassination attempts, she said she was both shocked and unsurprised. “I always asked him, ‘What’s next?’ Because after everything we saw, nothing felt impossible anymore.
Her words are a reminder of how much stress and uncertainty comes with public life—especially when violence enters the picture. Even with Secret Service protection and heavy security, the danger is real, and the emotional impact on families like the Trumps is deep and lasting.