Donald Trump used a reference to the widow of Corey Comperatore — a supporter killed during the July assassination attempt on the Republican presidential candidate in Butler, Pennsylvania — for a joke at a private fundraiser, according to a report from the Guardian.
In a recording from the August 10 dinner event in Aspen, Colorado, the former president purportedly said: “So they’re going to get millions of dollars but the woman, the wife, this beautiful woman, I handed her the cheque – we handed her the cheque – and she said, ‘This is so nice, and I appreciate it, but I’d much rather have my husband.’ Now, I know some of the women in this room wouldn’t say the same.”
He reportedly added: “I know at least four couples. ... At least four couples here would have been thrilled, actually.”
The remarks came as Trump was recalling how members of his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida gave him a $1 million check for Comperatore’s family, which includes widow Helen Comperatore. He also referred to a GoFundMe drive that raised millions of dollars for those injured or killed in Butler as Trump was holding a rally.
In late July, the former president had made a similar joke related to the Comperatore family during a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, campaign event.
The Guardian also reported that in the August recording, Trump was heard swearing while claiming that a group of “murderers” came to the U.S. after being released from prison in a foreign country.
On Saturday, Trump is preparing to visit the site of his July assassination attempt in Butler for another event. He’s set to be joined by billionaire Elon Musk.
Corey Comperatore was shot and killed as he tried to protect his family during the July incident, while a gunman’s bullet bloodied Trump’s ear.
Trump went on to kiss the helmet of the former Buffalo Township fire chief while on stage at the Republican National Committee later that month.
In a recent interview with the local Butler Eagle newspaper, Helen Comperatore pointed to the media frenzy in the month following the assassination attempt as a reason for feeling that her family members “had no time to really grieve.”
She added that they are “all still trying to heal” after her husband’s death.
“We’re grieving, and, you know, his loss is still very, very prominent,” she said. “You just start trying to live your life without this huge, huge presence, and it’s very difficult.”
Read more on Trump at the Guardian.