Trump says he may face assassination risk for being a 'consequential President'

US President Donald Trump has indicated that there might be attempts on his life because he is among the “consequential presidents” of the country, along with his predecessors Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy.

‘I don’t know how long I will be around’

"I don't know how long I'll be around," said Trump days after an armed man entered his Florida home and was shot dead by Secret Service personnel.

Elaborating further, the Republican leader said that a lot of people were targeting him, adding that they only go after “consequential presidents.” He cited the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy, stating that being “consequential” led to their murders.

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“I've got a lot of people gunning for me, don't I? You read about all these crazy shooters, but they only go after consequential presidents,” said Trump as quoted by NDTV.

"They only go after consequential. So maybe I want to be a little bit less consequential. Can we hold it back a little bit? Can we just, like, nice and easy? Could this be a normal president for a little while?" he added.

Mar-a-Lago breach

A man in his early 20s was shot and killed after illegally breaching the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago while carrying a shotgun and a fuel can. Trump was not at the Florida estate when the incident occurred.

A US Secret Service spokesperson confirmed the fatal shooting in a statement posted on X, stating, “An armed man was shot and killed by US Secret Service agents after unlawfully entering the secure perimeter at Mar-a-Lago early this morning.”

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The Secret Service said no personnel were injured during the confrontation. The FBI, along with the Secret Service and local law enforcement, has launched an investigation into the suspect’s background and possible motive.

As is standard procedure, the agents involved in the shooting have been placed on routine administrative leave pending review.

Past assassination attempts

The episode comes amid previous threats against Trump. Earlier this month, Ryan Routh, 59, who plotted to assassinate Trump at a Florida golf course in September 2024, was sentenced to life in prison.

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Trump also survived an assassination attempt on July 13, 2024, when he was shot and wounded during a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. Twenty-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired multiple shots from a nearby rooftop toward the stage, with one bullet grazing Trump’s upper right ear. Crooks was shot dead at the scene by security forces.

‘God saved me’

Reflecting a year after the Butler attack, Trump said God spared him to save the country from “those who seek its ruin.” “It remains my firm conviction that God alone saved me that day for a righteous purpose: to restore our beloved Republic to greatness and to rescue our Nation from those who seek its ruin,” he said at the time.

“An assassin's bullet came within a quarter inch of ending my life and silencing our movement to restore American greatness,” he said. “Yet, by the hand of providence and the grace of Almighty God, my life was spared.”