Trump explains why he chose to pump his fist after Pennsylvania assassination attempt

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WASHINGTON, DC: When Donald Trump raised his fist on July 13, just seconds after escaping an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, he was supposedly trying to send a message.

In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Washing the former president said he wanted his listeners to know that he was doing well and that "America goes on, that we go forward, that we are strong."

Donald Trump wanted supporters to know he was OK after assassination attempt

Trump was being removed from the platform in a photograph that has gone viral after a shooter opened fire on him. He may have been hit by a gunshot, as seen by the blood dripping from his ear and seeping across his face, yet before he was taken away, he stopped to pump his fist.

Trump said, "The energy coming from the people there in that moment, they just stood there. It’s hard to describe what that felt like, but I knew the world was looking. I knew that history would judge this, and I knew I had to let them know we are OK."

The shooter, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed on the spot. According to law enforcement sources, they are still unsure of the motivation behind the assassination attempt.

Thomas Matthew Crooks's former classmates describe him as a loner

Trump shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks was a loner who was "relentlessly bullied," according to former classmate Jason Kohler, who graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022. He added that Crooks was famous for wearing "hunting outfits" to class. Crooks reportedly donated $15 to the leftist ActBlue political action organization on the day of President Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021. 

Another classmate added, "He didn’t seem like really weird or anything. I would have pegged him as a Republican." A Bethel Park High graduate, Sarah D’Angelo, informed The Wall Street Journal, "He never outwardly spoke about his political views or how much he hated Trump or anything."

While Crooks "didn't have a full friend group," D'Angelo recalled that he had "a few friends." She also recalled that Crooks used his laptop to play video games during homeroom at school.

During his graduation year, Crooks was also awarded a $500 National Math and Science Initiative Star Award, according to TribLive.