For the past eight years, the left and the media have amplified and engaged in scurrilous attacks on the marriage between former president and first lady Donald and Melania Trump, and the aftermath of the July 13 assassination attempt was no exception.

The former president was hatefully mocked after suggesting in an interview that his wife's traumatic reaction to that near-fatal incident meant that "she either likes or loves me," according to OK Magazine.

The online response from some of Trump's haters was brutal and vindictive and included not just dismissals of the seriousness of the matter but also scandalous accusations that the former first lady was perhaps behind the deadly plot against her broadly despised husband.

"She either likes or loves me. And that’s nice."

Mediaite reported that former President Trump sat for an interview this week with Fox News host Laura Ingraham and was asked at one point about her reaction to his nearly being killed by a would-be assassin's bullet at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on July 13.

"She was watching live. It was all over the place. It was on television. It was on your network. But it was all over the place," Trump said. "And she was watching. I asked her that. I mean, I wasn’t there. I was on the ground. And when the world started to -- like, you could talk to people, I said: 'So what was your feeling?' And she was -- she can’t really even talk about it."

"Which is OK, because that means she likes me. Or she loves me," he continued. "I mean, let’s say she could talk about it freely. That wouldn’t be -- I’m not so sure which is better. But she either likes or loves me. And that’s nice."

"But I will say this. Look, she was -- when I went down, she thought the worst had happened, because I went down and I grabbed my [ear]. And I saw it was -- my hand was loaded up with blood. You see it in slow motion, instant replay," Trump added. "We had hundreds of press there. So this was covered live. They would have had instant replay and everything else, which they already do in this, but supposing the worst happened."

Hateful reaction from some

Unfortunately, per OK Magazine, many people did assume the worst, and not in the same way that former President Trump meant in that interview, in their own responses to the terrible attempted assassination.

"Donald Trump had to pay extra for Melania to be worried and scared for him after he got the cut on his ear," one social media user quipped while a second said of the former first lady, "Her nightmare was almost over. Of course she's pissed."

Another commenter remarked, "This is a weird marriage. She likes me because I was shot? Weirdest," while still another seemed to suggest that Melania was behind the shooting, and said, "When you hire a sniper and realize you are going to have to do the job yourself …"

Melania's post-shooting statement

As for the former first lady herself, she released a heartfelt statement one day after the shooting incident at the rally and wrote, "When I watched that violent bullet strike my husband, Donald, I realized my life, and Barron's life, were on the brink of devastating change. I am grateful to the brave Secret Service agents and law enforcement officials who risked their own lives to protect my husband."

"To the families of the innocent victims who are now suffering from their heinous act, I humbly offer my sincerest sympathy," she continued. "Your need to summon your inner strength for such a terrible reason saddens me."

"A monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine attempted to ring out Donald's passion -- his laughter, ingenuity, love of music, and inspiration," Melania said. "The core facets of my husband's life -- his human side -- were buried below the political machine. Donald, the generous and caring man who I have been with through the best of times and the worst of times."

The former first lady concluded by urging everyone to set aside their political differences and rise above the "hate" and "vitriol" that lead to violence and instead unite around transcendent ideas like love, family, and mutual respect for one another despite partisan disagreements.