Trump 'ready with new vigor' to address world issues: Congressman

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin

US Congressman Pete Sessions expressed strong support for Donald Trump, saying he is ready to address world issues after being elected president.

"President Trump is making not just a comeback, but a reassessment of the world and the things that have happened to him," Sessions told Anadolu at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the four-day Republican National Convention (RNC) ended after Trump's long-awaited speech.

Trump accepted the Republican presidential nomination on the last day of the convention amid rising calls for President Joe Biden to withdraw from the race.

Although he made appearances since the first day of the RNC, his address was his first since being targeted in an attempted assassination at a campaign event Saturday in the state of Pennsylvania, where a bullet grazed his right ear.

"I believe, and I think many others saw, that this split second was intervention from God...It means literally, he dodged the bullet. It means literally that he is alive and ready with new vigor to address the issues for the world," Sessions said.

Turning to the serious questions about the security failures that enabled the attack against Trump, Sessions stressed that the Secret Service has a problem.

"They did have a problem and still do, and that is why on Monday in Washington, we will begin the hearings to not just determine what went wrong, but what it's going to take to fix this when a person can get within 130 yards with a sniper rifle with the president of the United States, and then point fingers at not knowing who is responsible is irresponsible for the Secret Service. And so we will get to the bottom of this," he added.

Referring to reports of an Iranian plot against Trump, he added: "This is a very complex world, and we should not assume we're not without enemies. And this is something that is being done as we are working together to get to the bottom of this and the answers."

A lone 20-year-old gunman opened fire on Trump during the campaign rally, critically injuring two rally goers and killing a third.

Authorities have yet to determine a motive in the assassination attempt. They identified the suspected shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks.

US-Türkiye relations

Turning to a recent phone call between Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Sessions said he was pleased with the conversation.

"I was delighted yesterday to learn (about it) as I tried to play a part in getting President Erdogan to have a conversation with President Trump, to reaffirm not just the success of these two nations, but the working relationship between these two leaders, with the hope that President Trump will be our new president and this new relationship will begin across not only Türkiye and the United States but across the Balkans, a point of strength for the United States in the face of Russia and China being adversaries," he said.

During the phone call, Erdogan condemned the assassination attempt on Trump, describing it as "an attack on democracy."

Erdogan said Trump's "brave stance after the heinous attack was admirable and continuing his programs without interruption strengthened democracy," expressing his hope that the presidential election on Nov. 5 will be "auspicious" for Americans and Türkiye-US relations.

"The robust relationship between these two great nations will have a rebirth, it will have an opportunity, not just a restart, but an opportunity with two experienced leaders who want to work in the best interests of their nation and people for success in this world," Sessions added.