Donald Trump recently shared his concerns about the threats to his life, citing the numerous attempts on it. During a White House gathering with angel families on Monday, he broke his silence following the fatal shooting of an armed intruder at his Mar-a-Lago estate. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be around,” Trump remarked. “A lot of people seem to be targeting me, don’t they?” He alluded to the two assassination attempts he faced while campaigning for the 2024 presidential election.

Despite frequently spending his weekends at Mar-a-Lago during the colder months, often referred to as the “Winter White House,” Trump and First Lady Melania chose to remain in Washington, D.C., on that particular Saturday to attend the Governors’ Dinner. Subsequently, in the early hours of Sunday, a 21-year-old man from North Carolina, armed with a shotgun and a gas can, attempted to infiltrate the president’s Florida residence. The man, identified as Austin Tucker Martin, was shot and killed by the Secret Service after he refused to comply with orders to drop his weapon and allegedly aimed it at them.

Trump’s meeting with families who have lost loved ones to crimes committed by illegal immigrants marked his first public appearance since this recent security breach. During his remarks, he likened himself to historically significant presidents such as John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln, both of whom were assassinated while in office. Realizing the implications of being a ‘consequential’ leader, Trump jested, “They only target consequential [presidents]. Maybe I should aim to be a bit less consequential. Can we tone it down a little?”

‘Let’s be a normal president for a little while,’ he added. Trump is no stranger to facing near-death experiences. On July 13, 2024 his ear was clipped when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire in an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania . Crooks was shot and killed by Secret Service providing on-scene security for the event. Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old former fire chief and father, was shot and killed at the rally. Two other rally goers, David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, were critically injured but survived.

Just days later Trump went to the Republican National Convention and accepted his third straight nomination for the party’s candidacy with a large bandage on his ear Almost exactly two months later on September 15, 2024, Ryan Wesley Routh, 60, aimed a firearm through where he was hiding in the bushes outside Trump’s Palm Beach club while he was golfing. After a Secret Service agent shot in the direction of the visible firearm barrel, Routh fled the scene. He was tracked down, arrested, charged with attempted assassination, among other crimes, and earlier this month was sentenced to life in prison.