Defiant Donald Trump recalls Secret Service killing gunman, Joe Biden urges unity
US President Joe Biden has urged Americans to unify in the wake of an assassination attempt against his opponent Donald Trump, calling on the country to “lower the temperature in our politics” amid a tumultuous presidential campaign in a time of division and anger.
“The political rhetoric in this country has gotten very heated. It’s time to cool it down,” Biden said in an address from the Oval Office.
“Disagreement is inevitable in American democracy. It’s part of human nature,” he added during the speech, his third remarks to the nation in the span of less than 24 hours.
“But politics must never be a literal battlefield, and, God forbid, a killing field.”
Biden has rarely addressed the nation from the Oval Office during his presidency, and he used the solemn setting to signal the seriousness of the moment.
STORY CONTINUES AFTER LIVEBLOG
After attempt on his life, Trump wants to unite America
Royce
A grateful Donald Trump is in Milwaukee on Monday to make final preparations for the Republican presidential nomination after narrowly escaping an assassination attempt that he says presents an opportunity to bring America together.
Trump pumped his fist in the air several times as he descended the stairs from his plane after arriving in Milwaukee, where he will accept his party's formal nomination at the Republican National Convention with a speech on Thursday.
"This is a chance to bring the whole country, even the whole world, together. The speech will be a lot different, a lot different than it would've been two days ago," Trump told the Washington Examiner.
"I want to try to unite our country," he told the New York Post during the flight to Milwaukee. "But I don't know if that's possible. People are very divided."
Trump is due to receive his party's formal nomination at the Republican National Convention, which kicks off in Milwaukee on Monday.
- Reuters
Trump rally shooter rejected from school rifle team
Royce
Read the full story here:
Policeman ‘spotted shooter’ in rooftop confrontation
Royce
A local police officer reportedly saw the shooter who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump but was unable to stop him before he opened fire.
County Sheriff Michael T. Slupe told CNN that a policeman spotted Thomas Mathew Crooks crawling up the rooftop at a critical moment on Saturday but could not engage him at the campaign event in Pennsylvania.
Sheriff Slupe said that an officer, responding to calls of a suspicious person on the roof, had hoisted himself up to see what was happening but Crooks had turned his gun on him.
He said the officer let go of the ledge in order to save his own life before the gunmen opened fire at the crowd. He admitted that the gunman being allowed a direct line to Trump was “obviously” a failure.
The Secret Service are facing serious questions about their security operation at the event as a spokesman recently confirmed that the agency relied on local units to fill out significant parts of its specialised protective units.
- UK Daily Telegraph
Trump: ‘I’m supposed to be dead’
James Wheeler
In an interview with the New York Post, Trump said he was “supposed to be dead” after surviving the assassination attempt and recalled an "iconic" photo in its aftermath.
“I’m not supposed to be here, I’m supposed to be dead,” Trump told theNew York Postin an interview aboard his plane en route to Milwaukee.
Trump, wearing a large white bandage covering his right ear, said a doctor at the local hospital told him he's never seen anyone survive getting hit by an AR-15-style rifle.
"The doctor at the hospital said he never saw anything like this, he called it a miracle,” he said.
Trump recalled the moment Secret Service agents came flying at him like they were "linebackers".
On the video of the shooting and aftermath, as agents tried to rush Trump off the stage, he could be heard saying, “Wait, I want to get my shoes.”
“The agents hit me so hard that my shoes fell off, and my shoes are tight,” Trump said.
Addressing a photo of him raising his fist as agents attempted to usher him off the stage, Trump said; “A lot of people say it’s the most iconic photo they’ve ever seen.”
“They’re right and I didn’t die. Usually you have to die to have an iconic picture.
“I just wanted to keep speaking, but I just got shot.”
Trump praised Secret Service personnel for gunning down the shooter, who was perched on a roof almost 120 metres from where he was speaking.
“They took him out with one shot right between the eyes,” the former President told the New York Post as he pointed to the bridge of his nose.
“They did a fantastic job,” he said. “It’s surreal for all of us.”
Trump shooter ‘comically bad’ shot, was rejected from rifle team - report
James Wheeler
Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump, had tried out for his high school’s rifle team, but was rejected for being a “terrible” shot and making “off-color” jokes, the New York Post reports.
Crooks tried out for the rifle team at Bethel Park High School, two former classmates told the New York Post.
Jameson Murphy told the paper: "He tried out…and was such a comically bad shot he was unable to make the team and left after the first day.”
Another classmate, not named, was reported as saying Crooks ”couldn’t shoot at all. He was a terrible shot”.
He also "made some crass jokes that weren’t appropriate when there are firearms in the school setting,” they said.
Trump in ‘great spirits’, says pastor
James Wheeler
Donald Trump spent much of today on the phone with friends, news hosts and local and foreign officials the day after he was shot.
Ohio Pastor Darrell Scott, a longtime ally, said Trump “was in great spirits” when they spoke just hours after the shooting.
“He was great, like he always is. He didn’t even make a big deal of it,” Scott said.
“He was actually trying to downplay it somewhat, asking how I was doing.”
- UK Daily Telegraph
Jill Biden spoke with Melania Trump after shooting
James Wheeler
First Lady Jill Biden spoke with Melania Trump on the phone on Sunday afternoon after Donald Trump was shot, NBC News reported, citing a White House official.
- UK Daily Telegraph
James Wheeler
James Wheeler
Trump: 'I knew that history would judge this'
James Wheeler
Trump told The Washington Examiner in his first on-the-record media comments since the shooting the decision to raise his hand when the Secret Service was leading him off stage was to let the people there know he was OK, “And that America goes on, we go forward, that we are strong.”
“The energy coming from the people there in that moment, they just stood there; it’s hard to describe what that felt like, but I knew the world was looking. I knew that history would judge this, and I knew I had to let them know we are OK.”
Trump also told The Washington Examiner the reason he wasn’t killed was that he looked away from the crowd and to a screen with speech notes.
“I rarely look away from the crowd. Had I not done that in that moment, well, we would not be talking today, would we?”
James Wheeler
Trump underwent precautionary CT scan
James Wheeler
CNN is reporting the former President underwent the scan and it came back all clear.
Democratic congressman staffer no longer employed after social media post
James Wheeler
Democratic congressman Bennie Thompson said a staff member of his is no longer employed after he learned of a social media post she made about Donald Trump’s attempted assassination.
Screenshots of her apparent Facebook post, which was related to the attempted assassination of Trump, circulated on social media after the shooting.
The screenshots showed a post in which the staffer appeared to say she does not condone violence but suggested the shooter should get “shooting lessons” and should not have missed.
It is unknown whether the post remains up.
- UK Daily Telegraph
Trump: 'Had I not done that in that moment, well, we would not be talking today'
James Wheeler
Trump also told The Washington Examiner the reason he wasn’t killed was that he looked away from the crowd and to a screen with speech notes.
“I rarely look away from the crowd. Had I not done that in that moment, well, we would not be talking today, would we?”
Conversations about Biden still going on - Senator
James Wheeler
On CNN, Democratic Senator Cory Booker says that conversations about getting Joe Biden to stand aside are still going on, despite the campaign changing dramatically yesterday with the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
Biden needs to “unify the party,” he says.
He told CNN he will position himself to best “support whoever our nominee is” at the Democratic convention.
James Wheeler
The New York Times is reporting the FBI said while the investigation so far indicates the shooter acted alone, agents continue “to conduct logical investigative activity to determine if there were any co-conspirators associated with this attack”.
Trump speech rewritten after shooting - report
James Wheeler
The Washington Examiner has published a report saying Donald Trump "has completely rewritten his convention speech" for later in the week in light of the assassination attempt against him and "will call for a new effort at national unity".
“The speech I was going to give on Thursday was going to be a humdinger,” Trump told The Washington Examiner.
“Had this not happened, this would’ve been one of the most incredible speeches” aimed mostly at the policies of Joe Biden.
“Honestly, it’s going to be a whole different speech now.”
Biden refers to ballot box as ‘battle box’
James Wheeler
Republican strategists and online commentators have poked fun at Joe Biden for a gaffe after he called the ballot box “battle box” in a slip-up during his Oval Office speech.
“To call for action at the ballot box, no violence on our streets, that’s how democracy should work,” Biden said.
Afterwards, a few seconds later, he referred to the ballot box as the “battle box” twice.
“In America, we resolve our difference at the battle box, that’s how we do it, at the battle box, not with bullets.”
- UK Daily Telegraph
James Wheeler
Trudeau condemns attempted assassination of Trump
James Wheeler
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with Trump on Sunday, his office said in a statement.
“The Prime Minister condemned yesterday’s appalling assassination attempt and reiterated there’s no place for political violence,” the statement read.
“The Prime Minister wished the former President well and offered condolences to the shooting victims and to the family of Corey Comperatore.”
- Daily Telegraph UK
Opinion: The long history of assassinations and violence against US presidents
James Wheeler
Political assassinations in the United States have a long and disturbing history.
The attempted assassination of Donald Trump, who narrowly escaped death when a bullet grazed his right ear while he was speaking at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, highlights the danger of those seeking votes in a country whose constitution guarantees citizens the right to bear arms.
Trump joins a not-so-exclusive club of US presidents, former presidents and presidential candidates who have been the target of bullets. Of the 45 people who have served as president, four have been assassinated while in office.
Read more from professor Thomas Klassen here:
James Wheeler
Photo appears to capture path of bullet used in assassination attempt of Trump
James Wheeler
In documenting the Pennsylvania campaign rally that turned into an attempt on a former president’s life, Doug Mills, a veteran New York Times photographer, appeared to capture the image of a bullet streaking past former President Donald Trump’s head.
Read more about it here:
Biden's tribute to shooting victim
James Wheeler
Joe Biden also extended his “deepest condolences” to the family of Corey Comperatore, who was killed shielding his family from bullets during the rally, calling him a "hero".
Other notable quotes from Biden speech
James Wheeler
"We cannot allow this violence to be normalised, you know the political record in this country has gotten very heated, its time cool it down."
"Yes, we have deeply felt strong disagreements, the stakes in this election are enormously high."
Biden said the choice in this election will shape the fate of the country for "decades to come" but that should be a invitation for violence.
Joe Biden: Differences resolved at the ballot box, not with bullets
James Wheeler
Joe Biden: “In America, we resolve our differences at the ballot box ... not with bullets. The power to change in America should always rest in the hands of the people, not in the hands of a would-be assassin.”
Biden Oval Office address ends
James Wheeler
James Wheeler
Biden finished the address by saying "May God bless you all, and may god protect our troops."
Biden: 'Stand together'
James Wheeler
"Nothing is more important for us now than to stand together," Biden said.
"Our founders understood the power of passion and created democracy, it gave reason and balance to prevail over brute force, that's the America we must be."
Biden said it's time to "cool it down" as the election looms in November.
James Wheeler
Biden said he would continue to speak out for his beliefs and continue on his campaign as well as continuing his call for the violence to end.
James Wheeler
Biden referenced other incidents like January 6, 2021 and the attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband when he spoke about the rising violence amidst political tensions.
"Politics should never be a literal battle field, a killing field."
Biden calls for political rheteric to cool down
James Wheeler
“The political rhetoric has gotten really heated. It’s time to cool it down,” Joe Biden says.
"Violence has never been the answer."
James Wheeler
"We can not, we will not, go down this road in America."
Biden: Motive not yet known
James Wheeler
Joe Biden says the motive of the shooter is not yet known.
“A former president was shot. An American citizen was killed.”
Biden's Oval Office address starting
James Wheeler
US President Joe Biden started by reminding America that there are "no enemies".
"Yesterday's shooting at Donald Trump's rally in Pennsylvania calls on all of us to take a step back, take stock of where we are... how we go forward from here."
He spoke of the man killed and how we should "all keep the man in our prayers".
James Wheeler
Trump seen raising his fist in the air as he exited his plane, with a bandage visible on his ear covering the wound inflicted during an assassination attempt:
Latest live coverage
James Wheeler
Donald Trump has touched down in Wisconsin ahead of the Republican National Convention. He was seen raising his fist in the air as he exited his plane, with a bandage visible on his ear covering the wound inflicted during an assassination attempt.
President Joe Biden earlier urged Americans to unify in the wake of shooting, calling on Americans to be patient as he announced new investigations and security measures and promised to deliver an address from the Oval Office at 12pm NZT.
It will be livestreamed in this article:
Coming up: Joe Biden Oval Office address
James Wheeler
The US President will make a rare Oval Office address at 12pm NZT.
Biden has only delivered an Oval Office address twice during his presidency, once on October 7 after the Hamas attacks and a second time on June 2.
Donald Trump delivered an Oval Office address twice during his term and Barack Obama delivered three during his two terms.
Shooting victim a 'real-life superhero'
James Wheeler
Daughter of Trump rally shooting victim Corey Comperatore, Allyson Comperatore, said her dad died as a “real-life superhero”.
“Yesterday time stopped. And when it started again my family and I started living a real-life nightmare,” she wrote in a post to Facebook.
She said he was the “best dad a girl could ask for” and during the shooting, he “quickly” threw herself and her mum to the ground to protect them.
“He truly loved us enough to take a real bullet for us.
“There are a lot of children out there that say their dad is their hero, but my dad really is mine. I don't think I would be here today without him.”
The GoFundMe started to support their family has now climbed to $640,700 in donations.
Analysis: An assassination attempt that seems likely to tear America further apart
James Wheeler
The attack on former President Donald Trump comes at a time when the United States is already polarised along ideological and cultural lines and is split, it often seems, into two realities.
Read more from the New York Times' Peter Baker:
Veteran agent criticises ‘unacceptable’ security measures
James Wheeler
A veteran US Secret Service agent has criticised the “unacceptable” security measures put in place to protect Donald Trump at the Pennsylvania rally on Saturday.
Joseph LaSorsa told The Daily Telegraph UK Trump had not been killed because he moved his head an instant before Thomas Matthew Crooks fired, meaning the shot grazed his ear and snipers could respond before the 20-year-old gunman had a chance to reload.
LaSorsa, who protected several presidents including Ronald Reagan, said former Presidents do not receive the same level of security once they leave office because of manpower and budget constraints.
A sitting president would get “agents and police officers on every roof, every perch area where an assassin could approach and get a line of sight to a specific area”, he told The Telegraph.
“What they utilised yesterday was a counter-sniper team – that team neutralised the assailant and killed him.
“They did it quickly but not quick enough because he was able to get onto the roof, he was able to set up and he was able to fire. And that part is unacceptable.”
- Daily Telegraph UK
James Wheeler
Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino posted a video to X of Donald Trump exiting his plane in Milwaukee. In the video, his injured ear is briefly visible, wrapped in a white bandage.
He posted another video a few minutes later, showing Trump's motorcade heading into the city.
James Wheeler
Tribute to Trump rally shooting victim
James Wheeler
The Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company has shared a tribute online for the man killed during the shooting, Corey Comperatore.
The company said he was a "lifetime volunteer firefighter" and will be greatly missed".
"Corey, rest easy brother and we will take it from here."
Trump lands in Milwaukee for convention
James Wheeler
Donald Trump has arrived in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention.
He originally was going to delay his trip because of the attempted assassination, but he later decided he didn’t want it to change his plans.
Trump is not expected to speak at the Republican National Convention until Thursday night local time.
- UK Daily Telegraph
James Wheeler
Staffer: Trump upbeat and in good spirits
James Wheeler
The Washington Post is reporting Trump campaign co-manager Susie Wiles told staffers the former President was "upbeat and in good spirits". Wiles encouraged them to carry on and be careful, as she described the last 24 hours as difficult, according to a person with knowledge of the discussion who spoke to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity.
Fox News host talks about Trump call
James Wheeler
Fox News' Bret Baier has spoken about his phone call with Donald Trump:
FBI: Motive not yet known
James Wheeler
The FBI said investigators have not yet identified any ideology fueling the gunman - suggesting the horrifying assassination attempt may not have a primarily political motive.
“At this time, the information that we have indicates that the shooter acted alone and that there are currently no public safety concerns,” FBI special agent-in-charge Kevin Rojek said in a telephone briefing.
“At present we have not identified an ideology associated with the subject, but I want to remind everyone that we’re still very early in this investigation.”
- The Washington Post
Biden to give 'forceful and needed address'
James Wheeler
The New York times is reporting Joe Biden will give “a forceful and needed" address on the attempted assassination of Donald Trump and will emphasise the need for every American to come together to "not just condemn, but put to an end political violence in this country once and for all,” a campaign official told the NY Times on the condition of anonymity.
The speech is set for 8pm EST, or 12pm NZT.
Biden to continue with schedule
Stacey Hunt
The White House has confirmed President Biden will continue with his schedule of events in Las Vegas this week.
Biden is due to speak at an NAACP conference and a UnidosUS conference while Trump and the Republicans hold their National Convention in Milwaukee.
Reports Trump's campaign team using shooting to seek donations
Stacey Hunt
American media are reporting Donald Trump's campaign team has sent texts with images of the shooting seeking donations.
“I will always love you for supporting me,” the message said and the images were overlayed with the words "never surrender".
It linked to a page where it can donate to Trump's campaign and was sent just hours after a reported pause of digital fundraising following the shooting.
Trump speaks to Fox News
Stacey Hunt
Fox News host Bret Baier has talked to Donald Trump and summarised their discussion on air.
The New York Times reports that while Baier did not give direct quotes, and no video or audio was aired, he said Trump was appreciative of President Biden's call to him after the shooting.
Stacey Hunt
Security plans remain unchanged for Republican National Convention
Stacey Hunt
Secret Service Republican National Conference coordinator Audrey Gibson-Cichinno said the security plans for the conference remained unchanged despite the assassination event.
The group fronted the media as Trump makes his way to the convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Milwaukee Cavalier Johnson said they have “one goal in mind, to keep everyone safe.”
They said they have a US$25 million boost to their security fund, which has remained unchanged since 2004.
They said they are bringing in law enforcement officers “from across the America”.
Milwaukee police chief Jeffery Norman said they had been planning the security for the event for 18 months.
“I am very comfortable in regards to the plans we have made together.
“This is a national special security event, can’t get any higher than that in regard to this type of delegation.
“As a city, we got this, we got this.”
He said this is the largest security “inner perimeter” in the event's history, meaning no weapons can brought into the area around the venue.
Norman said they can not stop people from carrying guns outside that inner perimeter.
FBI Special Agent in Charge said there are no known threats to the conference at this time.
He urged the public to come forward if they know of any threats.
Mayor Johnson also said any "hard items" that could be used as weapons or projectiles, like cans or bottles, are also not allowed into the venue.
Stacey Hunt
Secret Service comes under scrutiny
Stacey Hunt
The Secret Service’s actions and the potential holes in its protective net are under intense scrutiny, with lawmakers in both parties calling on the director to account for her decisions and law enforcement officials and experts expressing shock at what many said was the worst Secret Service breakdown since the assassination attempt on President Reagan in 1981.
Read the full story below.
Trump departs for Republican National Conference
Stacey Hunt
Donald Trump has departed his New Jersey home and has begun his journey to the Republican National Conference in Milwaukee. It is understood he will front the media for the first time since the shooting at the conference.
Stacey Hunt
Stacey Hunt
Stacey Hunt
Hamish Fletcher
FBI special agent Kevin Rojek told American media there is "no evidence so far" to suggest Crooks was motivated by a specific ideology. He also said they do not believe Crooks had any accomplices
Photo of suspected Trump shooter
Hamish Fletcher
Photos are emerging of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old gunman involved in the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
'Saved my life'
Hamish Fletcher
Trump has credited a chart on the screen at his rally for saving his life, the former President's White House doctor told the New York Times.
“He goes, ‘The border patrol saved my life,’” doctor and Representative Ronny Jackson said. “‘I was going over that border patrol chart.’ He said, ‘If I hadn’t pointed at that chart and turned my head to look at it, that bullet would have hit me right in the head.’”
Hamish Fletcher
A staff member of a Democratic Rep has been fired after she allegedly posted on social media saying “don’t miss next time”.The post, which has since been deleted, was allegedly posted by Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson’s now-former field director Jacqueline Marsaw. The post read, "I don't condone violence but please get you some shooting lessons so you don't miss next time ooops that wasn't me talking."
FBI investigating shootng as 'potential domestic terrorism'
Hamish Fletcher
Donations flood in for slain firefighter
Hamish Fletcher
Corey Comperatore, the father of two killed while at the Trump rally, is being remembered by the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company as very outgoing and full of life.
A GoFundMe launched to support Comperatore’s family has topped US$394,000 ($638,000).
Hamish Fletcher
The two people hurt when shot at the Trump rally have been identified. They have been named by the Pennsylvania State Police as David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74,
Another man who was shot, Corey Comperatore, died of his injuries.
Hamish Fletcher
Trump posted on social media after Biden spoke, with a short, sharp message: ‘UNITE AMERICA!’
Hamish Fletcher
Watch Biden's full address on the Trump assassination attempt.
Hamish Fletcher
A police officer countered the suspected shooter, Thomas Crooks, on a roof near the Trump rally before the assassination attempt.
The officer retreated down the ladder and Crooks quickly took a shot toward Trump, and that’s when Secret Service counter snipers shot him, sources told Associated Press.
Hamish Fletcher
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro identified the man killed in the shooting at a rally for former president Donald Trump as Corey Comperatore, a father of two daughters who he said died trying to protect his family.
Shapiro said he had spoken with Comperatore’s wife, who asked him to share that “Corey died a hero.” She told the governor that Comperatore dove on top of his family to shield them from gunfire, which broke out in the early minutes of the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The FBI is investigating it as an assassination attempt on the former president.
Read the full story below:
Hamish Fletcher
Trump will be flying to Milwaukee, the site of the Republican National Convention, at 330pm (830am NZT). Trump said on social media that he decided he could not let a “potential assassin” force him to change to “scheduling, or anything else.”
Hamish Fletcher
The FBI is trying to break into the shooter’s cellphone, with court approval, to learn more about his plans and motive, the New York Times reports.
No evidence that gunman had help - investigators
Hamish Fletcher
Investigators of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump have not yet found any evidence that Crooks had assistance from others, the New York Times reports.
However, officials said the probe was moving fast and they were yet to analyse Crooks' digital devices.
Hamish Fletcher
Two people who were wounded at the Trump rally were still being treated in hospital and Pittsburgh and remain in critical condition, the New York Times reported.
World leaders react to Trump rally shooting: ‘A tragedy for our democracies’
Hamish Fletcher
French President Emmanuel Macron called the shooting “a tragedy for our democracies” and said, “France shares the shock and indignation of the American people.”
“I’m sickened by the shooting at former president Trump,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on X. “It cannot be overstated - political violence is never acceptable.” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said “political violence in any form has no place in our societies.” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said, “It is a warning to everyone, regardless of political affiliation, to restore dignity and honor to politics, against all forms of hatred and violence, and for the good of our democracies.”
Expressions of concern also came from countries that have experienced political violence in recent years.
“We must stand firm against any form of violence that challenges democracy. I pray for former President Trump’s speedy recovery,” said Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who had to be evacuated from a campaign event last year after what appeared to be a smoke bomb was thrown at him. In 2022, former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot and killed during a campaign event.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called the shooting “unacceptable” and said it should be strongly condemned “by all defenders of democracy and dialogue in politics.” In 2018, Jair Bolsonaro was stabbed was during a campaign rally before he became Brazil’s president.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said “such violence has no justification and no place anywhere in the world.” Zelensky, whose country is at war with Russia, was the target of foiled assassination plots in 2022, 2023 and 2024, according to Ukrainian authorities.
- Washington Post
Hamish Fletcher
Biden said the FBI was leading the investigation, and the investigation was in its early stages.
He urged people not to assume the shooter's motivations and "let the FBI do their job".
He said going forward, there will be heightened security for Trump, and a full investigation is underway into the security at the rally. He also said there will be heightened security at the Republican National Conference, which begins today.
Hamish Fletcher
Biden also extended his condolences to the Corey Comperatore who was shot while attending the rally.
"God love him."
He said the shooting was "contrary to everything [America] stood for.
Biden speaks after Trump assassination attempt
Hamish Fletcher
President Joe Biden said he has spoken with Donald Trump and he was "sincerely grateful" he was recovering and doing well.
"We had a short but good conversation."
Hamish Fletcher
Explosive material found in gunman's car
Hamish Fletcher
Bomb-making materials were allegedly found inside the vehicle of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the man suspected in the Trump rally shooting, according to reports from AP. Investigators also said there were bomb-making materials found at his home.
The rifle he used in the attack was originally purchased by his father.
Victim of rally shooting 'died a hero'
Hamish Fletcher
The person killed during Trump's rally has been identified as Corey Comperatore. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro says Comperatore died protecting his family.
The governor said he had spoken to Comperatore’s wife, who asked that he share “that Corey died a hero, that Corey dove on his family to protect them last night at this rally.”
Hamish Fletcher
Welcome to our ongoing coverage as the fallout of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump continues.
STORY CONTINUES
The remarks were an effort to return to what has long been Biden’s core political strength: a reputation for compassion, moderation and maturity. That image has been eclipsed in recent weeks by one of an 81-year-old President struggling to complete his thoughts at last month’s debate.
During his speech, Biden placed the Trump shooting squarely in a chain of recent violent events, most of which were aimed at Democrats: the 2021 assault on the US Capitol, the plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, the attack on the husband of former speaker Nancy Pelosi, and various threats against election officials.
In an earlier address from the White House Roosevelt Room on Sunday afternoon, Biden urged Americans not to make assumptions about the shooter’s motives. “We’ll debate and we’ll disagree - that’s not going to change. But we are not going to lose sight of who we are as Americans,” he said.
The President received a briefing from top law enforcement and homeland security officials on the shooting Sunday morning, and he pledged to share more information with the public as the investigation unfolds. He said he had instructed the Secret Service to review the security measures at the rally, where a gunman fired at Trump from a nearby building, and to reexamine the safety protocols for the Republican National Convention, which begins Monday in Milwaukee.
Biden’s careful words and actions underscored his dual role as a President who has warned about political violence and a candidate running against a man targeted by that violence. “The power to change America should always rest in the hands of the people, not in the hands of would-be assassin,” he said in his Oval Office remarks.
The reverberations of Saturday’s shooting, likely to be long-lasting and unpredictable, quickly began to reshape the contours of the 2024 race.
Biden postponed a scheduled Monday trip to the Lyndon B. Johnson Library in Austin. Vice President Harris delayed a trip to Florida to talk about abortion rights. The Biden-Harris campaign halted a $50 million ad blitz. And Biden’s team strategized privately about how to move forward in the face of an event that occurred at a time when the President was already under pressure to stabilise his candidacy.
The shooting at Trump’s rally late Saturday unfolded just as Biden was attempting to focus his campaign even more sharply on criticizing his Republican opponent, including for his intemperate rhetoric and divisive message, in an effort to move the conversation beyond his rocky performance in the June 27 presidential debate, which has prompted more than 20 congressional Democrats to call on him to end his bid for re-election.
Inside Biden’s campaign, officials spent Sunday trying to plot a path forward for a re-election bid that had largely gone silent since the shooting. On an all-staff call Sunday evening, Jen O’Malley Dillon, Biden’s campaign chair, said there “are no perfect answers” for how to respond to what authorities are investigating as an attempted assassination.
“There’s no like plug-and-play on how to navigate something like this,” she said, according to a source familiar with her comments who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations. “And all we can do is keep working through it and, you know, lean on each other and stay flexible and, you know, continue to focus on why we’re all here.”
Biden said Sunday evening that he would resume traveling the country this week to make a case for his vision, noting that Republicans would likely be criticizing his record during their confab in Milwaukee.
“That’s how democracy should work,” he said. “We debate and disagree.”
The President planned to travel Monday to Las Vegas, where he is scheduled to address conferences of the NAACP and UnidosUS, a leading Hispanic civil rights organization, later in the week.
Some Democrats said it was important to keep highlighting the contrast with Trump, while also showing sensitivity and compassion. They noted that Trump is set to receive his party’s presidential nomination during the Republican convention.
“This should not keep us from having frank conversations, even partisan conversations, about where we are on the issue contrasts,” said Maria Cardona, a Democratic strategist, who praised both Biden and Trump for measured responses in the hours after the shooting. “We should not feel compelled to bite our tongues in terms of bringing that contrast. We can absolutely bring that contrast without pouring gasoline on the fire of violent political rhetoric.”
Biden campaign officials say the attempted assassination further underscores Biden’s main motivation for running for President, in both 2020 and 2024: saving democracy, ending political violence and uniting the country. If Republicans seek to blame Biden or Democrats for the shooting, the officials said, they will stress that opposition to political violence has long been central to the President’s message - and note that several recent episodes of political violence have been cheered by some on the right.
After Biden participates in an interview with NBC on Monday afternoon, his campaign and the Democratic National Committee “will continue drawing the contrast between our positive vision for the future and Trump and Republicans’ backward-looking agenda over the course of the week,” a campaign official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to preview campaign strategy.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote Sunday that “it is more important than ever that we stand United and show our True Character as Americans.”
The two men spoke by phone Saturday after the shooting, in which Trump said a bullet pierced his right ear. The call was “good, short and respectful,” said one White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversation.
Biden cut short his weekend stay in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, to return to the White House on Saturday and began canceling some planned political activities. Harris’s canceled trip would have taken her to Trump’s home turf in Palm Beach County in Florida where she planned to focus on Republicans’ efforts to curtail abortion rights. Biden had planned to visit the Johnson library to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. Aides said the events would be postponed in light of the shooting.
Biden will move ahead with his planned interview with NBC’s Lester Holt on Monday, which will air in prime time as the Republican convention is getting underway.
The push for Biden to pull out appeared to be stalling after Biden held an hour-long news conference Thursday and a raucous rally Friday in which he defiantly declared he would not step aside. Some Democrats have suggested that Saturday’s shooting would further quiet discussion of Biden stepping aside, as political leaders of all stripes face pressure to lower the temperature on their rhetoric.
At Friday’s rally, Biden seized on Trump’s criminal conviction, the accusations of sexual assault and rape against him and the far-right Project 2025 agenda being pushed by the former President’s allies.
He went on to call Trump “a threat to this nation,” highlighting the Capitol insurrection and other acts of political violence he suggested were inspired by the former President.
Republicans have seized on Biden’s messaging in the aftermath of Saturday’s shooting, some asserting without evidence that the President bore responsibility for the incident. Senator JD Vance (Ohio), a potential Trump running mate, was one of several GOP leaders who tried to draw a link between Democrats’ rhetoric and the shooter’s actions Saturday.
“The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs,” Vance wrote on social media after the shooting. “That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”
The shooter’s motives have not been established and remain under investigation.
Trump’s own rhetoric has often been far more explicit. He has amplified posts on social media calling for military tribunals of his enemies and depicted Biden tied up in the back of a pickup truck. He has accused Biden of running a “Gestapo administration” and warned that his own criminal indictment would lead to “potential death and destruction.”
The shooting attempt at least temporarily complicates Biden’s stated plans to take the fight to Trump more directly. Images of Trump’s raised fist and bloodied face have ricocheted across the internet as his supporters – and even some of his critics – have lauded him for his defiant response to the shooting.
In recent private calls with donors and lawmakers before the shooting, Biden promised he would be more aggressive in public. On a call with donors on Monday, when asked what he would do differently in the next debate with Trump, Biden said, “attack, attack, attack, attack”.
In the same call, the President said he was done talking about his politically damaging debate performance. “It’s time to put Trump in the bull’s eye,” he said.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Republicans quickly seized on the comment.
Campaign aides said Biden’s comments referred to a desire to put a harsher spotlight on Trump and Project 2025, an agenda crafted by Trump’s allies that would dramatically reshape the federal government, and were in no way a call for violence.
One of the Project 2025′s own leaders floated the prospect of political violence earlier this month.
“We are in the process of the second American revolution,” Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts warned recently, adding that it “will remain bloodless, if the left allows it to be.”