“I wouldn’t, probably help you”: President Donald Trump tells 10-year-old rescued by teen lifeguard he “wouldn’t” have risked his life to save him

Nathanial Rai had been swept off his feet along the California coast and was rescued by a 16-year-old lifeguard, Ryder Williams. The video of the brave rescue went viral across social media, enough to be noticed by the United States President Donald Trump. On Monday, August 17, he invited both Rai and Williams to the White House for a meeting.While the gesture was appreciated what made many more headlines was the statement made by the 80-year-old world leader. Of Williams, Trump said to Rai: “He’s a real hero. I don’t know if I’d do it. I wouldn’t, probably. You’re lucky I wasn’t on the service that day.”Rai, 10, donned a dark suit and maroon tie and sat on a gold couch beside his father and Trump. Across from him was Ryder and both watched Trump speak of their ordeal, a video of which went viral on the internet. The President met the lifeguard and Nathanial after saying the teen deserved a civilian honour. Trump previously said on social media that he also would be inviting Ryder to the White House to reward his bravery.During the conversation, Williams was asked about his thought process during the heroic rescue. “In those dangerous moments that we have, we fall back on our training, and we are trained so well by many to handle that situation as best we can,” he said. “I was really thinking about getting the boy out of the water as fast as I can.”He added that he wants to continue helping people and hoped to go to paramedic school and become a firefighter. “I hope everyone can take away from this is to help more people,” Williams said. “Try to look out for everyone around you, and just try to help everybody out as much as you can.”A dramatic video of the rescue went viral in late July. It showed Ryder clinging to Nathaniel as pounding waves repeatedly crashed over them. The pair disappeared from view and reemerged after several seconds as the wave receded. A second lifeguard, Aaron Bohnen, was eventually able to help get them both back to shore at Seabright State Beach in Santa Cruz, California.Trump initially commented on the video in response to a post from his son, Eric Trump, who said Ryder deserved “the highest civilian honour”. Meanwhile, Nathanial’s father, Sumit, told the Associated Press of Ryder: “What he did, I can never repay. I’m forever grateful.”

The heroic rescue

Williams previously detailed the rescue in a video and statement for the official California State Parks Instagram account. He said he was standing at the waterline near Seabright’s Tower 2 when he “saw a child about 20 yards up from the tower lose his footing in ankle-deep water,” he recalled. “I radioed it in, threw my radio and sunglasses at the base of my tower as I ran toward the kid,” he wrote in the post’s caption. “I put my fins on my wrist, popped my buoy and entered the water to get a hold of the child.”The teen said he couldn’t get a tube to the boy and wasn’t able to pull him out of the rough waves “because he was limp and the waves were pushing so hard.” “As I grab the child, he goes limp, so I’m thinking about if he’s unconscious or not, that I really need to go in,” Williams recalled in the clip. “The whole time I was thinking, ‘I just need to hold my position until my partner can get here because I’m not going to be able to get him out on my own.’ ”“My partner mostly takes over holding the child because at this point, my arms were very exhausted from holding on,” Williams recalled. “I still support him as much as I can as we drag him out of the water.” The teen said that he and Bohnen got Rai safely back to shore and used a medical kit to help treat his injuries. Soon after, Williams was back to work “making more rescues later that day.”After the incident, Rai told CBS Mornings on August 4, that he thought he “was going to die” before Williams came in the water. He explained that he had never experienced waves that powerful before — and had seen surf that large “only on, like, the internet.”

Lifeguards as first responders?

Ryder’s rescue of Nathanial unfolded as California state lawmakers reviewed proposed legislation that would officially make lifeguards first responders.

As NBC Bay Area reported, Ryder’s rescue of Nathanial unfolded as California state lawmakers reviewed proposed legislation that would officially make lifeguards first responders. The outlet noted that analysts say giving lifeguards first responder status would bring them more professional recognition, support and resources, and could offer them better worker protections and benefits. It also spoke with people who could not believe that lifeguards were not already first responders.However, as per John Laird, a Santa Cruz state senator, such a designation is not straightforward. “Of course, lifeguards are first responders, but first responders also go through this rigorous training, so you’d have to decide – because in the peace officer standards training you go through eight months of training – so you’d have to decide what’s appropriate here,” NBC Bay Area quoted Laird as saying.“How does it work? How does it get designated? What training comes with it? Who pays for it?”