Donald Trump and Elon Musk hosted an X Space on X that covered topics from immigration to the fate of western civilization, and the competency of the Biden-Harris administration. During the hours long chat, Musk touched on the assassination attempt against Trump’s life. Musk had previously praised the president as “tough” after the attack and posted an endorsement of the president to X, featuring the moment after the attempt when the former president stood up and shook his fist in defiance. “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” wrote Musk. He followed up that post with a picture of the president, writing, “Last time America had a candidate this tough was Theodore Roosevelt.”

“If I had not turned my head, I would not be talking to you right now — as much as I like you,” said Trump of the incident. “It hit me at an angle that was far less destructive than any other angle. So that was the miracle — so those people who don’t believe in God, I think we got to all start thinking about that.” He stated the incident has enhanced his faith. “You know, I’m a believer. Now I’m more of a believer, I think. And a lot of people have said that to me. A lot of great people have said that to me, actually. But it was amazing that I happened to be turned just at that perfect angle,” he said.

Despite the incident claiming the life of attendee Corey Comperatore and wounding two others, Trump said he was surprised there were not more casualties. “My first question was — because I heard bullets flying over me — I said, ‘How many people were killed?’ We had a massive crowd. There was a tremendous — thousands and thousands of people,” he said. Despite criticism from many conservatives, Trump praised the Secret Service’s quick response, saying, “a lot more people could have been badly hurt and killed,” if it hadn’t been for the Secret Service sniper. “I have to take my hat off to [the agent] … You know, he’s been with them for 23 years, and he’s never had anything like this. And all of a sudden he has to act. And it’s a very tough thing to act and to be shooting somebody,” he said.

Trump has often referred to God’s hand in surviving the attack. At the RNC, during his first public speech since the attempt, he called it “amazing.” “The amazing thing is that prior to the shot, if I had not moved my head at that very last instant, the assassin’s bullet would have perfectly hit its mark, and I would not be here tonight. We would not be together,” he said. “I’m not supposed to be here tonight. 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.” He reiterated his belief in God’s intervention at a recent press conference. A journalist from the crowd asked, “You’ve spoken very passionately about how God saved your life, and I’m wondering, have you put much thought into why God saved your life, as in, for what purpose has he been shielding and protecting you?” To which, Trump responded he believed God had saved him because he wants to “save the world.” “I do things largely without a teleprompter, frankly, because it’s hard to hold an audience if you’re going to go for an hour and a half or two hours reading a script. And I just talked about it, and I moved to my right, turned sharply to my right, ping, and if I didn’t do that, I’m not here with you. So yeah, God has something to do with it. It’s a miracle, and God had something to do with it.”