Americans collectively held their breaths over the Memorial Day weekend, when news broke that former Florida congressman Allen West had been involved in a serious motorcycle accident on Saturday.
But Lt. Col. West managed to pop in for an exclusive, first interview after the accident, on Brian Kilmeade’s radio show Tuesday morning.
He said that, while coming home on I-40 from an Austin rally at the Capitol, in support of re-opening the state of Texas, a car clipped his motorcycle. The chain of events from there are unclear, but either the car or another motorcycle crashed into him, causing him to be thrown from his bike. He added that, unfortunately, it was a hit-and-run — the driver of the car never stopped.
West said he felt lucky to be alive, while sharing his injuries: “Thank God I didn’t get run over by, you know, another car or anything like that. But, pretty scraped up. I’ve got bandages on both arms and lost a lot of skin there. Lost skin on my face. Dislocated my shoulder and maybe have a slight fracture. And I’ve got a couple bad lacerations in my right palm and across my left knee.”
One of the moments that truly hit him was learning that the president and Americans across the country were keeping him in their prayers.
He explained: “I’ll tell you, when you’re sitting there in the hospital and it was Sunday and my wife Angela’s there and she tells me that President Trump just tweeted best wishes and you just break out crying.”
With a noticable crack in his voice, he continued, “It’s hard to hold back the tears, when you think about all the people who were praying for me.”
On the political front, West is seeking the chair position of the Texas Republican Party, which is currently held by James Dickey. The election for the post will happen during the state party’s convention, which takes place from July 16 – 18.
As a parting shot, West referred to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and former vice president Joe Biden, whose comments about black voters overtook the narrative during the holiday weekend.
He said, “Tell Joe Biden I’m black!” Kilmeade chimed in that he reckoned West wouldn’t be voting for him.
And from West came a flat, “No.”
Proof that Lt. Col. West was itching to let folks know how grateful he was for their prayers: a video he posted on social media just hours after he was released from the hospital on Monday:
— Allen West (@AllenWest) May 25, 2020
You can listen to the full interview with Brian Kilmeade on the player below:
Correction: The date of this year’s Texas GOP convention was delayed to July, due to the coronavirus. We regret the error.
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