Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl expressed relief following an apparent assassination attempt on former U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday evening. During a presidential campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, an apparent assassin attempted to shoot Trump but missed, with the bullet reportedly grazing his ear.
Pearl, a three-time SEC Coach of the Year, reposted a post by Victor Davis Hanson, a political commentator, on X.
"Thank God President Trump survived this assassination attempt," Pearl wrote. "His courageous reaction moments after getting shot tells you he is willing to take a bullet and fight for this country. Political violence has been tolerated, the media, Justice Dept, others are complicit."
The attack was the first time a serious attempt to assassinate a presidential candidate or president has been made since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981. It also reminded people of when George C. Wallace, a presidential candidate, was shot in May 1972, 52 years ago.
President Joe Biden, who is competing against Trump, talked to him a few hours after the incident, according to the White House.
There's no place in America for this type of violence," the president said in public remarks. "It’s sick. It’s sick."
One attendee was killed in Saturday's shooting, while two others were critically injured. The suspect was reportedly shot dead by the U.S. Secret Service in the initial exchange and has been identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
Bruce Pearl also reposted Trump's son Donald Trump Jr.'s post expressing concern over the media's priorities.
"Someone attempted to assassinate my father tonight and this is what CNN is focused on. These people are vile," Trump Jr. wrote.
Bruce Pearl once credited Donald Trump for ending Obama-era deal
Bruce Pearl, a native of Boston, Massachusetts, does not hold back his opinions on global issues and is vocal on social media. In October 2023, he appeared on the podcast, "Don't @ Me" by Outkick, where he discussed the tension created by the Obama and Biden administrations.
"Trump comes in, and I know some people don’t like Donald Trump because he tweets or he’s not presidential, but his policies were spot on," Pearl told Dan Dakich, the show's host.
"He comes in and says, wait a second, there’s pay to slay? Wait a second, so Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, they’re actually taking money and if you kill a Jew or murder a Jew or you do this suicide mission, they’re going to take care of your family and pay? This is ridiculous. We’re not funding that. And he cut it off. He cut off Iran."
Bruce Pearl, who joined the Auburn Tigers a decade ago, heads into his 11th season with the team. Under his leadership, the Tigers have advanced to five NCAA Tournaments, with their best run occurring in 2019 when they reached the Final Four.
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