Trump Said VP Only Important 'If Something Bad Should Happen' Right Before Shooting

Donald Trump said he thought a Vice Presidential running mate is only useful if something bad should happen to POTUS ... this just a few hours before the assassination attempt, and a couple days before he ultimately landed on a name.

The Republican candidate seems to have unintentionally foreshadowed what was about to happen when FOX News' Harris Faulkner pressed him about not having a VP picked yet in an interview that was filmed just before Trump's remarks at the Butler, PA rally.

He told her he didn’t want to belittle the sidekick role -- pointing out people in his orbit were touting the importance of Veep -- but in his POV, VPs are really only needed if something bad were to happen to the actual president ... and he noted this a couple different times.

Of course, something terrible did happen to Trump not long after this sit-down -- when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire from outside the rally Saturday ... wounding Trump and killing one person in the crowd, while injuring at least two others.

Since this interview aired ... Trump has named his vice presidential pick, lifting up Senator J.D. Vance and announcing him as his running mate. Of course, much has changed since this interview with FOX.