Melania Trump questions Trump's assassination attempt

Former First Lady Melania Trump questioned the official account of the attempted assassination of her husband, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, this summer.

In a dramatically staged 30-second video posted on social media platform X on Tuesday to promote her new memoir, Trump argues that “there is definitely more to the story.”

She is referring in particular to the failure of law enforcement to arrest the gunman, Thomas Crooks, before Donald Trump was nearly fatally shot at a campaign rally in western Pennsylvania.

“Trying to end my husband's life was a horrible, agonizing experience,” she says in the video. “Now the silence about it feels hard.”

“I wonder why the police didn't arrest the shooter before the speech,” she said. “There is definitely more to this story and we need to find out the truth.”

The video ends with a picture of her new book, Melania, and a link to purchase copies. The book will be released in the second week of October.

CNBC has reached out to Donald Trump's campaign team for comment on his wife's statement, which was posted online hours before her husband's debate with Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kalama Harris in Philadelphia.

The Secret Service, which protects Donald Trump and other former presidents, has been heavily criticized for failing to stop Crooks from shooting during the rally in Butler Township, Pennsylvania, on July 13. Crooks was stationed on a rooftop overlooking the nearby rally site.

Trump's ear was struck by gunfire and one man, former fire chief Corey Comperatore, was killed. Several other people were injured before Crooks was shot and killed by the Secret Service.

Crooks was considered a suspect by police near the rally because “he was hanging around and he caught their attention because he never found his way to the entrance of the venue,” Pennsylvania Police Commissioner Col. Christopher Paris said at a July 23 hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee.

According to Paris, Crooks was later observed by police carrying a rangefinder.

He fired shots from a rifle after a Butler Township police officer hung from the edge of the roof and saw Crooks pointing a gun at him.

Kimberly Cheatle, who was director of the Secret Service at the time of the shooting, resigned on July 23, a day after members of a House committee sharply criticized her and the Secret Service for their handling of the shooting.