Featured Image Credit: Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, News
Rhiannon Ingle
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, News
United States President Donald Trump has claimed he 'doesn't know how long he'll be around'.
The 79-year-old Republican made such comments earlier this week during National Angel Family Day.
An official White House press release shared on Monday (23 February) details the nature of the event, with a statement reading: "National Angel Family Day, we remember and honour the thousands of American lives stolen from us by criminal illegal aliens and the deadly drugs they bring across our borders.
"We stand with the Angel Families, many of whom continue to be left without justice. And we recommit to carrying out the largest mass-deportation effort in our Nation’s history, getting the worst of the worst out of our country, and putting a stop to the violence targeting the brave men and women of law enforcement."
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Both Trump's hardline stance on immigration and the conduct of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been heavily criticised by opponents, with many arguing that the immigration crackdown has been marked by widespread neglect of due process rights, per Al Jazeera.
In footage recently shared by First Post on Instagram, Trump declared that he has people 'gunning' for him.
He admitted: "You know, you read about all these crazy shooters, but they only go after consequential presidents. They don't go after non-consequential presidents.
"If you take a look, Abraham Lincoln, some big one, John Kennedy, in a certain way, was very consequential. He represented something very important.
"He was there for a thousand days, as you know, the book, a thousand days, but he was consequential. There was a glamour, there was something good for our country, right?"
He then joked: "So maybe I want to be a little bit less consequential."
"I don't know how long I'll be around," Trump continued before adding: "Got a lot of people gunning for me, don't I, huh?"
Tyla has reached out to the White House for comment.
His reported comments came after an armed man drove into the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s resort in Florida, before being shot and killed, according to a spokesman for the US Secret Service.
On Sunday (22 February), he entered the north gate of the property as another vehicle was exiting and was confronted by two Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw.
The man, who was in his early 20s and from North Carolina, had a gas can and a shotgun, according to Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi.
He had been reported missing by his family a few days prior, and investigators believe he headed south and picked up the shotgun along the way, per PA.
Guglielmi said a box for the weapon was discovered in the man’s vehicle after the incident, which took place around 1.30 am local time.
Trump was not there during the incident early on Sunday morning but was at the White House in Washington, D.C.
The man killed was identified by investigators as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin.
"He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with him," Bradshaw said at a brief press conference.
"At which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position."
The two agents and the deputy 'fired their weapons to neutralise the threat'.