Reporter Who Covered Trump Assassination Attempt a Year Ago
Shares Story of Phone Call on Website
Spoke with Trump for About 20 Minutes
When Asked "Do You Trust Putin?"
Trump Says, "To Be Honest, I Trust Almost No One"
"I was asleep when the call from the White House came. I had assumed the interview with President Trump had fallen through, so I was taking a short nap when the phone rang."
On the 15th (local time), the BBC website published an account by Gary O'Donoghue, the BBC's North America chief correspondent, who conducted an exclusive phone interview with President Donald Trump of the United States the previous day. O'Donoghue had drawn attention a year earlier when, while covering President Trump's campaign rally in Pennsylvania during the attempted assassination shooting, he immediately took cover behind a vehicle and broadcast the unfolding scene live.
He revealed that, as the first anniversary of the assassination attempt (July 13) approached, he was hopeful that he might be able to conduct a phone interview with President Trump. O'Donoghue believed that his reporting, which made headlines worldwide, might have caught the president's attention, and so, unlike most foreign correspondents, he waited, thinking he might have a rare opportunity to interview President Trump.
President Trump is known for his spontaneous phone calls to journalists, during which he candidly shares his thoughts on current issues. He is seen as preferring informal, phone-based conversations?where he maintains control over the exchange with the media?rather than formal interviews or press conferences in front of cameras.
Finally, on the 13th, O'Donoghue received a call from the White House informing him that he would be able to conduct a phone interview with the president. He prepared his recording equipment and waited, but the call did not come. After waiting until the next day, O'Donoghue resigned himself to the idea that the call would not happen, and, overcome by fatigue, he decided to rest for a while.
Then, the phone rang. Caroline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary, told O'Donoghue, "Hello. I'm here with the president. I'll put him on now." O'Donoghue, still groggy from sleep, rushed to the living room to find his digital recorder, and although the call appeared to have been briefly disconnected, it was soon reconnected, and he was able to speak with President Trump for about 20 minutes.
During the interview, President Trump spoke candidly about his reflections on the shooting incident a year ago, his disappointment with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and his views on the British government.
In the interview released that day, President Trump said of the assassination attempt, "I don't want to think too deeply about that incident. If I do, it could change my life because of the emotional scars. Such things should never happen." O'Donoghue noted that President Trump seemed somewhat uncomfortable discussing the incident.
When asked whether he trusts Putin, President Trump replied, "To be honest, I trust almost no one." However, he added, "I am disappointed in him, but (the relationship) is not over," leaving open the possibility of improving relations.
He also expressed a changed view on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). President Trump, who had previously criticized NATO for free-riding on U.S. military power, mentioned that NATO member states had recently agreed to raise their defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, saying, "Now they are paying their fair share." He also reaffirmed his support for NATO's collective defense principle.
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