Support truly
independent journalism
Joe Biden and Donald Trump had a brief “respectful” phone call following the assassination attempt against the former president at a campaign rally on Saturday.
The political rivals spoke by phone after Trump was injured in the shooting but no details were provided, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Addressing the nation about two hours after the shooting from Delaware, Biden said he was relieved that Trump is reportedly “doing well.”
He said he had been unable to reach Trump before his remarks, but the White House said he did speak to Trump several hours later.
The president said every American must condemn political violence after the shooting. “It’s sick,” Biden said. “It’s sick.”
The former president was rushed from the stage after shots were fired on Saturday, with blood running down his face. His Secret Service detail who bundled him into a waiting motorcade.
Trump’s campaign said that is he “fine” and was “checked out a local medical facility.” He later flew to New Jersey to spend the night at his golf club in the state.
One spectator was killed and two critically injured in the assassination attempt, before the suspected shooter – later identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks – was killed by a Secret Service agent on the scene.
The motive for the attack remains unclear.
Follow our live blog for updates on the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump
Crooks, a 20-year-old Pennsylvania resident, was a registered Republican voter, but also donated $15 to a Democratic-aligned PAC, according to online records.
Speaking from a convention center at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, Biden said he has been “thoroughly briefed by all the agencies in the federal government” on the situation.
Biden said the incident at the rally demonstrates one of the reasons why “we have to united this country” and said Americans “cannot allow for this to be happening.”
“We cannot be like this. We cannot condone this,” he said.
“The bottom line is that the Trump rally was a rally that he should have been able to be conducted peacefully, without any problem ... the idea that there's political violence or violence in America like this is just unheard of. It's just not appropriate. And we, everybody, everybody must condemn it,” the president said.
Biden’s remarks came not long after he and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed on the shooting.
According to a White House official, Biden received a briefing from Kimberly Cheatle, director of the US Secret Service, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and his Homeland Security Adviser, Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall.
Biden was at his beach house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Saturday and received an initial briefing on the shooting shortly after leaving Mass at St. Edmond’s Roman Catholic Church. He has returned to the White House and is being briefed further by security officials.
Separately, the Office of the Vice President said Harris received what they described as an “initial briefing” at her official residence in Washington, shortly after she returned from a campaign stop in Philadelphia.
In a statement, Harris said that she and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff are “relieved” that Trump was “not seriously injured.”
“We are praying for him, his family, and all those who have been injured and impacted by this senseless shooting,” she said.
Harris added that she and Emhoff were “grateful to the United States Secret Service, first responders, and local authorities for their immediate action” and said violent acts such as the shooting at the Trump rally have “no place in our nation.”
The former president was just moments into speech at the Butler, Pennsylvania rally venue when loud pops were heard to the left of the stage.
Trump turned his head in the direction of the sound and appeared to have been struck by something near his ear. He then quickly dropped to the ground as the crowd began screaming and running.
Within seconds, Secret Service agents tackled the former president to the ground and formed a barricade around him, shuffling off stage to safety. He was bundled into a waiting SUV by his security detail, with his fist raised. His motorcade left the rally venue at speed.
Steven Cheung, communications director for Trump’s presidential campaign, said in a statement that Trump is “fine” and being “checked out a local medical facility” after he was tackled, then hustled off stage at the rally by members of his Secret Service detail after gunshots rang out while he was speaking.
Cheung added that Trump “thanks law enforcement and first responders for their quick action during this heinous act.”
