God's Providence: Republicans React to Divine Grace During the Assassination Attempt on Pres. Trump

So many Americans, including me, are reeling in the day after a Pennsylvania man tried to assassinate the 45th U.S. president, Donald Trump. (Note: While it's not usual for me to refer to him as "President Trump," on this Sunday, it feels appropriate and respectful.)

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Like many Christians in our nation, in a somber and frightening moment like this one, I turned to comfort from God, thinking about how providence is something no one earns or expects--but accepts with humility. Here are some other Republicans who did--and continue to do--the same.

During ABC's "This Week," during the roundtable segment from the site of the Republican National Convention, which starts Monday, Reince Priebus, the chairman of the host committee, appeared to paraphrase a verse from the Bible, when he said, "In tragedy, God is our refuge."

Psalm 46:1 reads:

God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.

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As conservative podcaster and former White House aide, Monica Crowley highlighted, even Pres. Trump realized how much he depended on God's grace for how close that bullet came to taking his life:

“… it was God alone…” pic.twitter.com/UScXsBOOrH
— Monica Crowley (@MonicaCrowley) July 14, 2024

Lieutenant Governor of Texas, Dan Patrick, shared a prayer-filled text he sent to Trump, saying that "God has had his hand on" the former president. It read:

By the slightest turn of your head in a mere microsecond or the shield of a teleprompter, your life was spared by the Grace of a Merciful and Holy God. I shared with you not long ago, on our flight to Houston, that God has had his hand on you since you first ran for President. That I believe. No man could survive all you have been through without the Grace of God upon you.
The Bible verse "And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?" appears in the book of Esther 4:14.
Praise God your life was spared "For such a time as this."
Your friend always,
Dan Patrick

This Catholic priest, Fr. R. Vierling, wrote in an X post that it's possible Mary, the mother of Jesus, played a part in what happened on a very auspicious date:

On President Trump’s inauguration night, Fr. Andrew Mahana exorcised the White House and presented a statue of Our Lady of Fatima and a rosary to the then newly-sworn president. Yesterday—July 13, was the 107th anniversary of Our Lady’s appearances at Fatima. Did Our Lady… pic.twitter.com/OyrSqMmsDm
— Father V (@father_rmv) July 14, 2024

The full post reads:

On President Trump’s inauguration night, Fr. Andrew Mahana exorcised the White House and presented a statue of Our Lady of Fatima and a rosary to the then newly-sworn president. Yesterday—July 13, was the 107th anniversary of Our Lady’s appearances at Fatima. Did Our Lady intervene as she did to foil the attempted assassination of St. John Paul II?

Wade Miller, the Executive Director of Citizens for Renewing America and a Marine vet, rightly noted the contrast between how conservatives and radical leftists react to national moments of chaos:

Take note left, there are no riots today.

MAGA isn’t burning down Butler, PA.

Interviews with those at Trump rally didn’t express hatred or retribution, they appealed to Heaven and prayer for our country.
— Wade Miller (@WadeMiller_USMC) July 14, 2024

Conservative author Bethany S. Mandel wrote on X that "it's clear" that God's hand was over the event. Her post reads:

There is no clearer evidence of God than what happened today in Butler, PA. He tilted his head at just the right moment. Right, left, center; everyone understands that a few millimeters just may have saved the country as we know it. And by the grace of God, we can right the ship.

Ben Carson, who served in the Trump administration as the Health and Human Services secretary, and is said to be on the vice presidential short-list, wrote that he has told the likely 2024 Republican nominee that "[he] is called for this moment in history," and "God is not done with our country." While sharing guidance from the Bible, Carson urged Americans to lean on their need for God now, and "realize, together, we're unstoppable":

pic.twitter.com/ZvTUQdAfxU
— Ben & Candy Carson (@RealBenCarson) July 14, 2024

Lastly, I think it says something about a man's heart when, just hours after someone tried to murder him, his thoughts were on others. There's a humility in that instinct, which follows one of Jesus' top commandments for Christians, as I've written about before. We're to first, love God, then our neighbor as ourselves.

Pray for the President and Our Nation VIP

That's exactly what Trump did when he authorized an account to be opened at GoFundMe for donations for the shooting victims and their loved ones. Among the first Republicans I saw sharing the link on their X accounts were Arizona GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake, and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), who is (like Carson) being considered for the vice presidential slot on the Republican ticket:

This is the official Trump campaign fundraiser for the victims of the shooting in Pennsylvania. Please consider donating if you're able.

May God bless the victims. https://t.co/zOEDDeI04o
— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) July 14, 2024

He wrote:

This is the official Trump campaign fundraiser for the victims of the shooting in Pennsylvania. Please consider donating if you're able.
May God bless the victims

Another veep contender, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), shared it on Sunday, too.

It appears to have opened for donations just after midnight EDT. The goal was set at $1,000,000. At the time of this writing, the fund has reached $3,231,354! Thanks be to God for all of the generous people being led to do what they can in a time of pain and confusion for those families.

I'll end with this. There's a perfect quote from my colleague Bob Hoge's piece on an Israeli Special Operations veteran Aaron Cohen, who called Trump's escape from death about one inch away.

He said: "God must have been watching down on the president."

Update: I don't always agree with the former House Speaker, but this seems appropriate to close things out: