The man who disarmed Bobby Kennedy’s assassin and shielded the Democratic senator’s pregnant wife on the day her husband was shot has revealed that he is voting for Donald Trump.

NFL legend Rosey Grier, now 84, has backed Donald Trump in the race to the White House, teling DailyMail.com: 'Time is running out, we need a leader that's going to change this country. We need to be great again.'

Grier was with Bobby and Ethel Kennedy on June 5, 1968, acting as their bodyguard at the Ambassador Hotel in California, when Kennedy - who was running to be the Democrat party's presidential nominee - was shot.

He shielded Ethel's pregnant body to protect her when the shots were fired and later disarmed the assassin Sirhan Sirhan. Kennedy died in hospital the following day.

Rosey Grier, NFL legend and former bodyguard to Bobby and Ethel Kennedy, has backed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump

Grier (bottom left) disarmed assassin Sirhan Sirhan (center) after he shot Bobby Kennedy in June 1968

Grier, who is black, believes the billionaire will be tough on immigration and prevent terrorists from getting into the United States

'I think about it all the time,' Grier, who is now an ordained minister says about the trauma of seeing his friend shot in front of him.

But despite being a close friend to the Kennedy family, the former New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams linebacker says he will vote for Trump on November 8 because the United States needs a businessman in charge.

He also believes Trump will be strong on immigration and preventing terrorists from getting into the United States.

The devout Christian, who says he voted for President Barack Obama twice, slams the first black president for being soft on immigration and not doing enough to help inner cities.

In an interview with DailyMail.com in his Los Angeles office, he said: 'They're allowing all kinds of people to come into this country. They don't even know who they are.

'I want to make sure that my grandchildren are protected because someone cared about who's coming into our country.'

Grier, who played for the Giants and the Rams in the 1950s and '60s, is a surprise backer for Trump who has been largely shunned by the African-American community.

But the NFL star, who has befriended US presidents and politicians on both sides of the aisle, sees a winner in the billionaire businessman.

Grier sits against a backdrop of signed, framed photos showing him with the great and the good including Presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George H W Bush, UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher, singer Elvis Presley, Robert F Kennedy, his younger brother Teddy and their nephew John F Kennedy Jr.

The African-American evangelical Christian reveals why he doesn't think Trump is racist and why he believes the Republican candidate should be forgiven for his X-rated comments about women.

Grier (back, second from left) was with Bobby and Ethel Kennedy on June 5, 1968 acting as their bodyguard at the Ambassador Hotel in California, when Kennedy - who was running to be the Democrat party's presidential nominee - was shot

He shielded Ethel's pregnant body (both pictured on the left side of the frame) to protect her when the shots were fired, and he later disarmed the assassin Sirhan Sirhan. Pictured above, Bobby Kennedy speaks with a photographer before being shot by Sirhan

'We've all sinned and come short of the glory of God,' says the man who also counseled OJ Simpson when he was behind bars awaiting trial for double murder in 1994. 'So it's not about any of us living perfectly.

'There's only one person who came into this world and lived a perfect life. That's Jesus. So he [Trump] can be forgiven.'

Grier says he often wonders what the world would be like if his friend Bobby Kennedy - who championed social justice causes, vowed to fight poverty and was an inspiration to him - had lived.

Grier is still in touch with the Kennedys he says. He's pictured above with Jackie Kennedy Onassis at an unknown date

'What would our nation be like had Bobby Kennedy become president?' he says. 'Would our nation be in the position that it is in today? I think not.'

Despite his devotion to the Kennedys, for the past three decades he has favored the Republicans, mostly because of his Christian and pro-life values.

Nevertheless the 6ft 5in retired NFL player voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012 and was excited when the Illinois senator was set to become the first black president.

'I was at the convention when he announced that he was going to be the man,' says the father-of-three. 'I was there taking pictures. I was excited about being there and I listened to all the things that he said.'

But Grier says he became disheartened when he tried to reach out to President Obama and got no response.

The man who has met Presidents Carter, Reagan, Richard Nixon, George H W Bush and Bill Clinton says: 'When he became president I wrote him three letters.

'I would always write presidents and see what they say. I wanted him to be the drum major. Like Martin Luther King said, "Be a drum major". I was thinking in those terms.

'I called everyone that I know, trying to reach him. I called the Secret Service. I could not reach him.

'I wanted to speak to him to say that we need him to do stuff in the inner city, in these places where these young people are going to jail, are killing each other.

'I wanted him to come and let them see his face, that I care enough to bring myself here. I made promises and I want to keep those promises to make a change in our country.'

Grier retired from football after winning two Pro Bowls - in 1956 and 1960. He then went on to become an ordained minister

But the man who has co-founded initiatives like Impact Urban America to rejuvenate and improve inner cities, says he was left disappointed.

'He's visited inner cities,' he says of Obama, 'and it's cost almost maybe $100,000 to go and see [him]. It takes big bucks to go and visit our president.'

Instead he has faith that billionaire businessman Donald Trump has what it takes to make an impact and turn around deprived communities.

Grier played for the New York Giants and the Los Angeles Rams in the 1950s and '60s

He says: 'We have choices. You have to look [at] who do you think can do it?

'I think Trump can do it - bringing people together and making sure that people get a job.

'Those that go into prisons - make sure before they come out they know a skill.

'They must be able to read and write. They must learn before they come out so they'll be able to get a job.

'I'm saying that when we all come together - regardless of who we are - and we work together, we can change this world.'

In recent hard-hitting campaign ads, Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton has slammed Trump for allegedly discriminating against black people in 1970s New York by refusing to rent apartments to them in his properties.

In 1973 the Justice Department sued Trump Management, the future Republican nominee and his father Fred, who owned the company, for housing discrimination.

The case was settled and the presidential hopeful has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Asked if he thinks Trump - who he has only met socially many years ago - is racist, Grier says: 'No, I don't believe that.

Grier has been dozens of famous politicians, including Presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George H W Bush. He says he writes to celebrities to see what they say in response

His office features a wall covered photos of politicians and celebrities he has met over the years, including Ronald Reagan and Jackie Kennedy

'I know they talk about the time that I guess some of his places they didn't want to have minorities in the buildings.

'Well, there were a lot of places that didn't want to have minorities.

'I think that we've all made mistakes, but we all have our right to change our mind as we get to understand.

'There have been people that I've seen that maybe I won't spend a lot of time with, but I'm certainly going to give them respect.'

Grier has also forgiven Trump's vulgar comments about grabbing women by their 'p***y' and kissing them without their consent, which were captured on the leaked Access Hollywood tape from 2005.

In fact it's the ordained minister's Christian faith that is partly driving his support of Trump. In addition to steering the country in the right direction financially, Grier believes the property mogul will support evangelical values.

He says: 'We are no longer having our children in school studying the Bible but they've got them studying about the Muslims.

'They're learning all about what Muslims are and they have classes for them there but our kids cannot.

'They have [a] special place for them to pray but our kids can't pray in school, and they're supposed to have no prayer in school.

'They don't have the Ten Commandments. There is no moral absolute in the schools today.

'They don't recognize the power of God in school and we need that. We need someone that cares about that. He [Obama] basically doesn't care.'

Grier's concerns stretch to the fight against ISIS and terrorism - other areas where he thinks Trump is strong.

Grier voted for President Barack Obama twice, but slams the first black president for being soft on immigration and not doing enough to help inner cities

He says: 'We pray for the whole world. It's about do you care about the world?

'Now I know there are people that want to destroy us, this nation. We are called the satanic devil by those who hate us.

'I want us to love Israel. ISIS - those that want to kill the people from Israel and us too - don't like Christians and Jews.'

Grier is still in touch with the Kennedys he says, including Rory, who was born six months after her father was murdered.

'I talked to Ethel last week,' Grier says of the 88-year-old widow. 'I just call them all the time, because they changed my life.'

Grier credits the Kennedys for making an NFL player interested in politics. And he says he doesn't dislike Trumps rival Hillary Clinton.

Speaking of the former Secretary of State and First Lady, he says: 'I have the greatest respect for her. In fact I've spent time with her. I've talked to her.'

He adds: 'I think we all have a time that we change sides.'

However, while he prays that Trump wins the election, Grier is prepared to support whoever steps into the Oval Office in January 2017.

Grier says: 'If he doesn't win I will help whoever wins because you see I don't run from my responsibility as an American citizen.