Near Assassinations: Two Presidents, Two Popes

When Donald Trump was nearly assassinated this past Saturday in my hometown of Butler, Pennsylvania—at a rally that I nearly attended (my 16-year-old son was there)—I quickly thought of March 30, 1981, the day that President Ronald Reagan was nearly assassinated. I have written extensively about Reagan, and I think the similarities between the two attempted assassinations are notable.

Both men were shot by loners in their 20s, outcasts, not part of any conspiracy, who acted entirely on their own. In Trump’s case, if the bullet fired by Thomas Matthew Crooks had struck a few centimeters closer to his skull, he would have died. In Reagan’s case, if the bullet fired by John Hinckley had struck a few centimeters closer to his heart, he would have died. Both men, afterward, unhesitatingly credited God for their survival.

A striking difference was the immediate reaction of each man after Secret Service agents covered them to protect and whisk them away to their cars. Trump defiantly raised his fist and exhorted the crowd, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” It was a stunning display of bravado, of courage, of fight, an image for the ages.

The image of Reagan in March 1981 being shoved into the back of the presidential limo likewise is iconic. So much so that it’s the opening scene in the upcoming Reagan movie, starring Dennis Quaid and based on one of my books on Reagan.

Ronald Reagan’s reaction inside the hospital room before the surgeons knocked him out for surgery was touching. Yes, characteristic of Reagan, he famously cracked a joke, saying to the surgical team: “I hope you’re Republicans.” But quietly, to himself, Reagan said this: 

I focused on that tiled ceiling and prayed. But I realized I couldn’t ask for God’s help while at the same time I felt hatred for the mixed-up young man who had shot me. Isn’t that the meaning of the lost sheep? We are all God’s children and therefore equally beloved by him. I began to pray for his soul and that he would find his way back into the fold.

Trump’s reaction was different. Instinctively, he flashed his anger, ready to literally fight. That’s alright. It’s okay. Given the hell that Trump has been put through by his opponents, he was right to be enraged. His righteous response was inspiring, heroic, and now iconic. It was unrehearsed and kind of astonishing to behold. It was epic.

A few hours later, in a Reaganesque response, Trump’s public statement graciously first remembered the man who lost his life in the grandstand, Corey Comperatore. “I want to thank The United States Secret Service, and all of Law Enforcement, for their rapid response on the shooting that just took place in Butler, Pennsylvania,” Trump began. “Most importantly, I want to extend my condolences to the family of the person at the Rally who was killed, and also to the family of another person that was badly injured.”

Who also merited being thanked?

I had quickly posted a piece at The American Spectator titled, “In My Hometown—Trump the Fighter.” Emails and text messages flowed in because of that article. One that really struck me was from my former editor at TAN Books, Patrick O’Hearn (who has written for Crisis), who thanked Our Lady of Fatima. Patrick certainly had my interest. 

As someone who did a major book on Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II, which included Our Lady of Fatima as basically the third character, I didn’t shrug off Patrick’s text. After all, the shooting of Trump occurred on July 13, a crucial date in the Fatima apparitions that occurred on a series of thirteenths in 1917, from May 13 to October 13. Among the Fatima messages, those of July 13, 1917, were the most profound and prophetic of all of them. Here is what Patrick posted:

During President Trump’s presidency, a statue of Our Lady of Fatima was placed in the White House. It was a gift from Fr. Andrew Mahana, who also exorcised the White House on inauguration night on January 20, 2017 according to an article by uCatholic. The below image is proof of that statue! 

On May 13, 1981, Pope St. John Paul II survived an assassination attempt. That day was the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. John Paul II credited his survival to Our Lady of Fatima. He said “Mary guided the bullet.” Our Lady of Fatima appeared on the 13th of every month from May to October 1917 in Fatima, Portugal to three children (St. Jacinta, St. Francisco, and Ven. Sister Lucia) asking for prayer and penance. 

On July 13, 1917, Our Lady of Fatima revealed the three secrets, including showing the children hell. Hence the 13th day is very significant. 

Today on July 13, 2024, (13th day) President Trump survived an assassination attempt. Catholics honor Mary throughout the year, but especially on Saturdays. 

I believe Our Lady of Fatima saved President Donald Trump’s life… she guided the bullets away from him. Our Lady is God’s instrument. Yes, God saved President Trump, but I believe He allowed Our Lady to have a special role. Her intercession helped spare President Trump’s life. 

Let us pray for President Trump’s full recovery and for the bystander who was killed in this senseless tragedy. Let us also pray for the soul of the perpetrator (thanks Jack Beers for this reminder). 

Our Lady of Fatima, intercede for our nation, which is becoming more and more evil and divided.

Patrick told me that he’s “getting blasted by so many people” for bringing Our Lady of Fatima into this conversation. So be it. I, of course, certainly can’t vouch for each line of his statement nor for what literally only heaven knows. But that said, let’s bring in Our Lady of Fatima as it relates more concretely to the strikingly parallel events in 1981. That brings me to the other near assassination at the time of Ronald Reagan’s shooting.

Related Podcast:

Did Our Lady of Fatima Save President Trump?

On May 13, 1981, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Fatima, Pope John Paul II was shot by a Muslim Turk named Mehmet Ali Agca. Agca had waited all day in St. Peter’s Square. When the time finally arrived as the pontiff drove by in his white Fiat Popemobile, Agca pulled out a concealed 9 mm Browning pistol and began firing. He landed a shot into the pope’s gut that was nearly fatal. Like with the bullets intended for Reagan and Trump, if the bullet fired by Agca had struck a few centimeters closer, John Paul II would have died.

The pontiff-turned-saint credited God for his survival and also the intervention of the Blessed Mother. The pope famously said that one hand fired the bullet and another deflected it.

All of which brings me to an event that happened last week in Italy that few in the West seem to know about. It was reported in the National Catholic Register on July 12, in a piece titled “Gun Found in Abandoned Suitcase Before Papal Visit to Trieste, Italy.” The article related to a papal visit by Pope Francis and included some stunning parallels to the John Paul II shooting 43 years ago. It reported the following:

Pope Francis’ security had to be reinforced during his visit to Trieste, Italy, on July 7 due to the discovery of a pistol inside an abandoned suitcase at the city’s train station. The pope traveled to and from the city by helicopter.

According to the Italian press, less than 24 hours after the arrival of the Holy Father, all the alarms went off after the police discovered a Czech-made semiautomatic pistol inside the suitcase.

The discovered weapon, a 9 mm handgun with a magazine containing 14 bullets, was inside the suitcase along with two pairs of shoes and clothing of Turkish origin still bearing the labels.

The comparisons to May 13, 1981, are uncanny, right down to the 9 mm handgun, the Turkish origin, and the mention of the Czech Republic, a former Communist Bloc country, akin to the country of Bulgaria, whose conspirators worked with Agca to try to kill John Paul II. Likewise striking was the description of the suspect, who eerily resembles Agca’s profile:

Although they have not yet determined the identity of the suitcase’s owner, the station cameras show a man 5 feet 9 inches tall with a dark complexion who looked around before leaving the suitcase and exiting.

Of course, this certainly isn’t to say that the potential would-be shooter was Mehmet Ali Agca, who spent decades in prison, was recently freed, and now seems to be living a life of repentance and peace. And most certainly, no attempted assassination took place in Italy last week with the current pope. Nonetheless, as someone who has long studied and written about the Turkish shooter’s attempt to kill the Holy Father back on May 13, 1981, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Fatima, the similarities certainly struck me.

What can we say about all these parallels today? Well, truly God alone knows. But the shooting of Donald Trump this past weekend, along with the report on Pope Francis published the day before, take me back to the attempted assassinations of the president and pope 43 years ago. So do the invocations of Our Lady of Fatima and, above all, the need to pray constantly for our dangerous world.