Trump and Vance discuss shooting, Secret Service response in first joint on-camera interview

Former President Donald Trump and his newly minted running mate Sen. JD Vance of Ohio appeared together on Monday night for their first joint interview since becoming the party's nominees.

The interview, which was actually conducted on Saturday, aired during "Jesse Watters Primetime," and touched on the recent assassination attempt against Trump on July 13, where he was shot in the ear, and subsequent Secret Service investigation and response.

The former president reflected on the moment that he was shot, and the need he felt to let the country and his supporters know that he was okay by lifting his fist into the air. He also praised the courage of the crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania, claiming the courage some people showed was "incredible."

"The media always slanders these crowds, as you know, MAGA extremists, and it really is a testament to the movement, how calmly people responded to it. That's definitely the thing I took away most from it," Trump told Watters. "They thought it was over when I went down, because they saw the blood immediately, and then when I put the hand up, everybody was happy. That was a time when they realized I was okay, and what a country. It was a beautiful moment."

Vance asserted that there should have been tighter security on Trump because of the high turnout at his rallies, and that people need to be held accountable for the security failures that allowed the shooting to take place.

"I think it illustrates something that's so different about the Trump administration versus the Biden administration is, look, screw ups sometimes happen, even very big screw ups," Vance said. "But it's the responsibility of leaders to stand before the country and say, 'all right, we screwed up. We're gonna get to the bottom of it. We're gonna answer questions and do it in public.'

"I think the fact that there's been no transparency here is what makes a lot of us say, 'Well, what the hell happened? And why?' You know, are we actually taking steps to ensure it doesn't happen again?" 

When asked if Trump would declassify the files related to the investigation into the shooting, the former president said that he would because "there should be nothing to hide here." 

The interview was filmed two days before Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testified in front of the House Oversight Committee, where she attempted to dodge the majority of questions and failed to adequately explain her agency's failure to prevent the shooting.

Her testimony has spurred criticism from both sides, and prompted a joint letter from House Oversight Chairman James Comer and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin that called for Cheatle's resignation.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.