The Donald lays into ‘maniac’ British protester – and blames ‘lawless’ immigration for him being in the country
Michael Sandford, 20, had allegedly been planning the plot for a year and even had backup tickets for the next Trump rally in case he was unsuccessful
DONALD TRUMP has described the young British man who allegedly tried to grab a gun from a police officer to assassinate him as a “maniac”.
The US presidential candidate responded for the first time over the assassination attempt with Trump saying he was unaware of the incident at his Las Vegas rally when it first happened.
Trump said: “The policeman whose gun was tried to be, you know, stolen by this maniac, was really fantastic. And so police have done a great job, and Secret Service, these people are great.
“They don’t get the kind of credit they deserve. I deal with them all the time. I see them, I watch them, I know them and they’re terrific, terrific people.”
Speaking to Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo in a telephone interview, Trump said he learnt what had happened on the television.
He said: “Actually, I learned about it watching television. They didn’t tell me about it, and probably they’re better off not telling me about it.”
Michael Sandford, 20, was living out of his car and in the US illegally when he allegedly made the attempt on Trump’s life.
He now faces 10 years in jail if found guilty.
The young British man, understood to have Asperger’s, had been heavily involved in robots before moving to the US more than a year ago.
When asked about reports that Sandford had overstayed his visa, Trump said: "Well, that's what's happening. I mean, look, we have no law, we have no order when it comes to many things. I mean, we're just talking about immigration.
"Overstaying visas is a whole part of it."
Trump speculated that there are "millions" of people currently overstaying their visas in the United States.
“We have no idea who’s in our country. You’re going to have a very rude awakening one day in this country. We have no idea who’s in our country.”
Sandford, who grew up in Dorking, Surrey, dedicated much of his time to buying and upgrading robots, including Mr Nasty, before selling them when he moved to the US more than a year ago.
It was there that he allegedly planned for a year to kill Donald Trump, visiting the Las Vegas rally on Saturday.
One man who was at the rally said he was dumbstruck after finding out the young man he had been speaking to in the queue was the one pulled from the crowd after allegedly trying to grab a police officer’s gun.
Gregg Donovan, a Hollywood entertainer turned Trump supporter, had driven for four hours to see the presidential candidate speak at the rally when he said he began chatting to Sandford.
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Speaking to The Washington Post, Donovan said the young man had questioned him over why he liked Donald Trump.
But when Donovan, 56, told the young man he had previously met Trump and the billionaire had promised to get him his job back, Sandford looked away, almost rolling his eyes.
Sandford further showed his lack of support for Trump, appearing to shudder when Donovan got dressed in a black top hat and red tailcoat, both plastered with Trump memorabilia
He said: “He seemed a little bit repulsed.”
Donovan also said Sandford was acting “weird” and “nervous” while in the queue, with the young man saying that Trump was “bizarre”.
The Trump supporter said he was shocked when he realised it was this young man who had been escorted from the crowd.
As Sandford was led away from the crowd, Trump reportedly said “We love our police.”
Sandford has not yet entered a plea but was refused bail when he appeared in US court after the judge flagged concerns the 20-year-old would be a flight risk.
Two women, including the young man’s mother Lynne, were yesterday escorted from their Surrey home by police.
His father Paul Davey also signalled his intention of travelling to the US to be with his son, saying he had no idea why his son would attempt to shoot the billionaire presidential candidate but believed someone else “blackmailed” him or put the idea in his head.
Davey, 50, said: “Looking back, I don't want to use the term radicalised but we don't know who he has been speaking with - this just isn't him.
“It's an absolute shock, he's never been violent in the slightest, he's always been a polite and peaceful boy.”
He said his son, who has Aspergers, had seemed upset in the months leading up to the alleged attack but refused to talk about it.
The concerned father said: “It's totally out of character and we're worried about what has happened to him since he's been in America because obviously it's a dramatic change.
“Whether he's been blackmailed or put up to it, that's the only thing me and his mum can think of. It's so against his nature and obviously with his Aspergers, we think somebody has got hold of him and done something.”
He said the family had recently been speaking with the American embassy to have their son return to the UK but had been unsuccessful.
