Published on August 10, 2024, 12:37 am

Renowned editor and political science professor at Grove City College, Paul Kengor, who has authored notable books such as “A Pope and a President: John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, and the Extraordinary Untold Story of the 20th Century,” recounts some intriguing events in his work. He presents real news based on trusted sources about two presidents’ miraculous escapes from assassination attempts – crafting narratives through a Christian worldview.

The book tells the riveting story of Ronald Reagan’s reaction subsequent to being targeted by would-be assassin John Hinckley on March 30, 1981. Following Reagan’s speech at the Washington Hilton hotel, he emerged from a VIP exit where Hinckley fired his shots. Apart from Reagan, three others were hit — White House Press Secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, and Washington D.C. policeman Thomas Delahanty. Initially redirected towards the White House post-attack, secret servicemen quickly diverted to George Washington University Hospital when President Reagan started coughing up blood.

Kengor skillfully narrates how surgeons found the bullet perilously close to Reagan’s heart after he collapsed upon entering the hospital – stating that he was “perilously close” to death.

Fast forward to July 13, 2024; another assassination attempt targeted former President Donald J. Trump while addressing an outdoor rally in Butler Pennsylvania. The shooter was Thomas Matthew Crooks – aged just 20 years – who slew rallygoer Corey Comperatore and injured James Copenhaver and David Dutch. Trump narrowly escaped death when a bullet intended for him grazed his right ear rather than causing fatal harm.

There are striking parallels between both almost assassinations regarding how two presidents contemplated their narrow escapes. After recovering from his attack, Ronald Reagan met Pope John Paul II at the Vatican who also survived an attempted assassination himself shortly after meeting Reagan.

In Kengor’s retelling of these events, one finds the tantalizing story of how surviving severe circumstances led to a more profound focus on what Reagan and the Post-assassination-attempt Pope believed to be the “DP,” — their Divine Plan to counter communism. The belief that their lives had been preserved for an exceptional purpose was shared between Reagan and Pope John Paul II following their individual brushes with death.

Interestingly, former President Trump similarly reflected on his survival as somewhat miraculous in the aftermath of his own near-death experience saying: “I’m not supposed to be here. I’m supposed to be dead…. The doctor at the hospital said he never saw anything like this. He called it a miracle.… By luck or by God, many people are saying it’s by God I’m still here.”

This real news raises thought-provoking questions about what may constitute a “Divine Plan” for former President Trump – only time will reveal its reality. Analogous reflections were made regarding Ronald Reagan’s near assassination experience as he simultaneously fought against Soviet influence and communism.

Years later, The Hill reported that after Ronnie’s brush with mortality, his enduring mantra became particularly vivid — encapsulated in his words to his national security adviser: “We win. They lose.”

For former president Donald Trump – just like Ronald Reagan – it seems convincing that the assassination attempt forced him into contemplating why he survived such an ordeal and whether there is a divine plan at work.

It takes little imagination to consider how Donald Trump might perceive himself within another “Divine Plan,” tasked with bringing peace to our troubled world as he further cements bilateral peace agreements between numerous Arab states and Israel under the banner of his outstanding Abraham Accords — which many initially considered impossible.

In light of this riveting comparison between two uniquely targeted presidents, we anticipate what these extraordinary experiences will prompt from Donald J. Trump going forward given recent data forecasting his lead at polls leading up to the approaching election.