Donald Trump Asks Supporters for Donations to Help Him ‘Get to Heaven’

President Donald Trump’s campaign has been sending fundraising emails with the subject line, “I want to try and get to Heaven.”

The emails, which reportedly started on Saturday, Aug. 23, ask supporters to donate $15 during a “24-HOUR TRUMP FUNDRAISING BLITZ,” according to the Independent, Snopes, and Newsweek.

“Last year, I came millimeters from death when that bullet pierced through my skin. My triumphant return to the White House was never supposed to happen!” the email said, referring to the July 2024 assassination attempt against him in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“But I believe that God saved me for one reason: TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!,” the message continued, according to the Independent. “I certainly wasn’t supposed to survive an assassin’s bullet, but by the grace of the almighty God, I did. SO NOW, I have no other choice but to answer the Call to Duty, but I can’t do it alone.”

The emails began a few days after Trump, 79, appeared on Fox & Friends on Tuesday, Aug. 19. During the interview, he said he wants to take action to end the war in Ukraine. “If I can save 7,000 people a week from being killed, I think that’s pretty — I want to try to get to heaven if possible,” he said.

“I’m hearing that I’m not doing well. I am really at the bottom of the totem pole,” he added, causing laughter from the Fox News hosts. “But if I can get to heaven, this will be one of the reasons.”

Later that day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she believed Trump was serious.

“I think the president was serious,” she said. “I think the president wants to get to heaven — as I hope we all do in this room as well.”

The emails come at a time when rumors about Trump’s health were circulating online over Labor Day weekend. Some social media users noticed that Trump’s schedule appeared clear over the weekend. Vice President JD Vance also gave an interview with USA Today, saying he was ready to step in if anything happened to the president.

After the holiday weekend, Trump was asked by a reporter during a press conference on Tuesday, Sept. 2, if he knew many social media users thought he had died the previous week.

The president said he knew people were wondering if he was sick because he saw “reports,” but he claimed he did not know about the now-debunked theory that he had died. He called the conspiracy theory “fake news” and said the media helped spread it, even though major news outlets never reported it as fact.

That same day, he posted on Truth Social, writing, “NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE.”

A representative for Trump’s fundraising efforts did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for more information on Friday.