President Donald Trump may be posting and talking about the fresh ***** assination threat he faces from Iran — but in private, according to those closest to him, he rarely brings it up.
Trump is still affected in his own way by the near-constant threats he faces as president, from both domestic and foreign actors. He has long taken a fatalistic view of his life — an outlook that's only deepened since the ***** assination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, just over two years ago, and subsequent attempts to harm him or his circle.
The threat to Trump's life from Tehran, which dates back to his 2020 authorization of the drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, spilled into public view in Turkey earlier this month. Amid an unraveling ceasefire with Iran, Trump mused that he is its "Number One target" and ultimately ditched his new Air Force One, reportedly due to security concerns about the aircraft's defensive capabilities.
Behind closed doors, however, Trump shows a different, almost wry side as he considers his safety. More than a half-dozen aides and lawmakers close to him confirmed to Semafor that he doesn't dwell seriously on ***** assination risks — but when it does come up, he's known to "joke about it," one White House official said.
"He says it privately a lot, too: 'Nobody told me how dangerous it is to be president, and if they had told me, I probably wouldn't have run.' And he makes comments like that in jest, but there's a reality behind that," the official told Semafor.
Trump is still affected in his own way by the near-constant threats he faces as president, from both domestic and foreign actors. He has long taken a fatalistic view of his life — an outlook that's only deepened since the ***** assination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, just over two years ago, and subsequent attempts to harm him or his circle.
The threat to Trump's life from Tehran, which dates back to his 2020 authorization of the drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, spilled into public view in Turkey earlier this month. Amid an unraveling ceasefire with Iran, Trump mused that he is its "Number One target" and ultimately ditched his new Air Force One, reportedly due to security concerns about the aircraft's defensive capabilities.
Behind closed doors, however, Trump shows a different, almost wry side as he considers his safety. More than a half-dozen aides and lawmakers close to him confirmed to Semafor that he doesn't dwell seriously on ***** assination risks — but when it does come up, he's known to "joke about it," one White House official said.
"He says it privately a lot, too: 'Nobody told me how dangerous it is to be president, and if they had told me, I probably wouldn't have run.' And he makes comments like that in jest, but there's a reality behind that," the official told Semafor.
4 months ago
