'They Blew It:' Trump Rips Secret Service After They Failed to Take Out Butler Shooter Before Prez Was Shot in 'Bloody' Assassination Attempt

On the second anniversary of the Butler, Pennsylvania, assassination attempt, Donald Trump tore into the Secret Service, accusing the agency of a string of catastrophic failures that nearly cost him his life, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

The president, 80, was grazed in the ear by a bullet fired from a nearby rooftop, while a campaign rally spectator was killed on July 13, 2024, and he's not saying the Secret Service completely "blew it."

"Well, they blew Butler because they had one building that was empty, and they blew it," Trump fumed during a phone interview on Fox & Friends.

The president added that the agency "should have had somebody standing on that building" where Thomas Matthew Crooks positioned himself and was able to fire off eight rounds from an AR-15–style rifle before being neutralized by a Secret Service counter-sniper team.

Supporter Corey Comperatore was killed, and two others were wounded along with Trump, who infamously rose from the ground with blood pouring down the right side of his face while raising his fist in the air and yelling "fight, fight, fight."

Trump's comments were in response not only to the anniversary of the assassination attempt but also to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General report that the Secret Service missed "multiple opportunities to detect, prevent, and disrupt" Crooks' attempt on the then-presidential candidate's life.

One of the most damning determinations was that the agency failed to create a joint communications system with local police in Butler, which resulted in agents missing more than 100 radio transmissions about the suspicious gunman.

The Secret Service also left a key area beyond the rally perimeter dangerously exposed, despite state police plans making clear it would not be secured.

In addition, agents had flagged the rooftop’s direct line of sight to Trump as a serious threat, but failed to make sure the deadly vantage point was blocked.

Trump has long maintained he narrowly escaped death because he turned his head to glance at a screen just as the would-be assassin opened fire, causing the bullet to miss his skull by less than a quarter of an inch.

"I got lucky. God was watching,” the politician told Fox & Friends. “My sons Don and Eric, both of them, they know a lot about guns. They hunt. They like to hunt, and they said from that distance, with that gun, that particular gun, there’s almost no chance of missing."

He added, "So God was with me."

Trump has gone on to survive two other known attempts on his life.

Gunman Ryan Routh was lying in wait to shoot the tycoon as he played golf in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September 2024, but he was caught by the Secret Service before being able to get off a shot. Routh was sentenced in February to life in prison plus seven years.

More recently, a gunman stormed past a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in April, headed toward the ballroom where Trump, his cabinet, and many members of the press were seated.

Cole Tomas Allen was arrested after a shootout with Secret Service agents and was charged with attempted assassination of the President of the United States, as well as several other firearms-related counts.