Trump: God Saved Me because He Wanted Me to Save the US, World

Former US President Donald Trump  - AFP
Former US President Donald Trump  - AFP
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Trump: God Saved Me because He Wanted Me to Save the US, World

Former US President Donald Trump  - AFP
Former US President Donald Trump  - AFP

Donald Trump insisted that he is “not a threat to democracy” in an interview with TV personality Dr Phil on Tuesday night, during which he also suggested that he survived an assassination attempt last month because God wanted him to save the US - and possibly the world.

During the hour-long, sit-down in Las Vegas, the former president attempted to clarify previous remarks about wanting to be a “dictator for one day” and ensuring people would “not have to vote again” if he wins the White House in November, The Independent reported.

Trump once again laid into Democratic rival Kamala Harris over her border policy; baselessly claimed that mail-in voter ballots would result in “massive fraud”; and pushed the Big Lie that he had won the 2020 election.

Discussing the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, last month, he was asked by Dr Phil McGraw why his life was spared.

“I mean, the only thing I can think is that God loves our country, and he thinks we're going to bring our country back. He wants to bring it back. It's so bad right now,” Trump replied.

Asked by Dr Phil if he believed that “God’s hand” had played a part in his survival, the former president replied: “I do.”

Trump also said that being president was “much more dangerous than a race car driver,” or any other profession.

“I said to the Christians, we’ve got to win this election,” Trump asserted.

Trump also claimed that his comments to Fox News’ host Sean Hannity in December about being “a dictator for one day” were in jest, and were really referring to his desire to get work quickly.



Pope Francis Says Refusing Aid to Migrants a ‘Grave Sin’ 

Pope Francis gestures during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, Aug.28, 2024. (AP)
Pope Francis gestures during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, Aug.28, 2024. (AP)
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Pope Francis Says Refusing Aid to Migrants a ‘Grave Sin’ 

Pope Francis gestures during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, Aug.28, 2024. (AP)
Pope Francis gestures during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, Aug.28, 2024. (AP)

Pope Francis on Wednesday strongly decried the treatment of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea to enter Europe, saying it was a "grave sin" not to offer aid to migrant vessels.

"There are those who work systematically and with every means to reject migrants," the pontiff said during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square.

"And this, when done with conscience and responsibility, is a grave sin," he said.

The pope has spoken frequently about the treatment of migrants over his 11-year papacy. But his words on Wednesday, invoking Catholic terminology for one of the worst kinds of sin, were especially strong.

Migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea in simple crafts or home-made dinghies from northern Africa and the Middle East have been the subject of intense debate across Europe over the past decade.

The International Organization for Migration estimates that more than 30,000 migrants crossing the Mediterranean have gone missing since 2014.

In Italy, a rescue ship operated by the Doctors Without Borders charity was issued a 60-day detention order on Monday. Authorities said the vessel, which had conducted several rescue operations on Aug. 23, failed to properly communicate its movements.

Doctors Without Borders refuted those claims. "We have been sanctioned for simply fulfilling our legal duty to save lives," it said in a statement.

Francis on Wednesday called for expanding access routes for migrants and a "global governance of migration based on justice, brotherhood and solidarity." The pope said the issue would not be resolved through the "militarization of borders".

In recent weeks, the pope had been offering a series of reflections about Catholic spiritual matters in his weekly audiences.

At the beginning of Wednesday's remarks, the pope said he was postponing that series this week, to consider "people who are crossing seas and deserts to find a place where they can live in peace and security".

Wednesday's audience was the last before Francis, aged 87, embarks next week for an ambitious four-country visit across Southeast Asia from Sept. 2-13. It is the longest trip yet by the pontiff, who now regularly uses a wheelchair due to knee and back pain.