Former President Donald Trump said he was grateful to be alive after the terrifying moment on Saturday when an assassin attempted to kill him at a Pennsylvania campaign rally.

During a phone interview with the New York Post, the 45th president described the “very surreal experience” that almost took his life, saying he’s “supposed to be dead.”

“The doctor at the hospital said he never saw anything like this, he called it a miracle. I’m not supposed to be here, I’m supposed to be dead. I’m supposed to be dead,” Trump said.

If he hadn’t tilted his head slightly to the right to read a chart about illegal immigrants, he stated he would have been. What would have been a fatal shot at that moment tore off a small portion of his ear and splashed blood across his cheek and forehead.

Trump claimed that even though Secret Service officials were escorting him off stage, he still desired to address the crowd, but they had to take him to the hospital because it wasn’t safe to do so.

He removed his long-sleeved white shirt to reveal a massive bruise on his right forearm, marveling at how the agents arrived like “linebackers” as soon as the gunfire began.

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He also answered a question concerning his sneakers. He could be heard shouting, “Wait, I want to get my shoes,” on the footage of the incident and its aftermath, as the tough agents sought to get him off the stage quickly for safety.

As Trump explained in the interview, “The agents hit me so hard that my shoes fell off, and my shoes are tight,” he said with a smile.

The gunman was positioned on a roof approximately 130 yards away from the platform where Trump was speaking, so he applauded the Secret Service agents for their bravery.

“They took him out with one shot right between the eyes. They did a fantastic job. It’s surreal for all of us,” Trump said.

In addition, Trump talked about the amazing picture in which he was trying to get out of the platform and into an armored SUV when he raised his fist and said, “Fight,” three times.

“A lot of people say it’s the most iconic photo they’ve ever seen. They’re right and I didn’t die. Usually you have to die to have an iconic picture. I just wanted to keep speaking, but I just got shot,” Trump said.

“By luck or by God, many people are saying it’s by God I’m still here,” Trump added.

At the rally, two men were injured and one man was shot and died. When asked if he had considered going to the funeral of Corey Comperatore, the firefighter who lost his life defending his family from the gunman’s bullets, Trump replied in the affirmative.

“Get the numbers, I want to go to the hospital and call all the families,” he said, turning to the assistants who were waiting for him behind him.

Trump also commended the 55,000-person crowd for their composure during the rally.

“A lot of places, especially soccer games, you hear a single shot, everybody runs. Here there were many shots and they stayed.”

He added: “I love them. They are such great people.”

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Meanwhile, the volunteer firefighter who died while protecting his family from sniper bullets aimed at former President Donald Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, is being honored as a selfless “girl dad” and devout churchgoer. Known for consistently prioritizing others, he is remembered as a dedicated family man.

Comperatore, 50, died on Saturday night while shielding his wife and family from gunfire when a 20-year-old man sneaked onto a roof and started shooting at Trump during a rally in a Pennsylvania town.

“It’s just so typical of him, the way it all happened, with protecting his wife and his daughter and just throwing himself on top of them when they hear the shooting,” said Eileen Shamanski, whose children grew up playing soccer with Comperatore’s daughters.

“He was an all around good guy that was always there to lend a hand and support not just his own children but all the other kids who were friends of their girls and on the team,” she told Fox News Digital. “He had a just give it your all attitude, [and] a lot of kids respected him for that, just always being there supporting, giving those pep talks to get them going. It’s going to be a big loss.”

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