President Joe Biden said the gunshots fired at former President Donald Trump’s campaign rally Saturday were a “sick” act of violence.
“There’s no place in America for this kind of violence,” Biden said. “It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons we need to unite this country.”
In his first remarks since the jarring images of a bloodied Trump being escorted offstage by Secret Service agents emerged, Biden said he had personally reached out to his predecessor, who he referred to as “Donald.” A White House official said the two spoke later Saturday night.
“He’s with his doctors,” Biden said. “Apparently, he’s doing well.”
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The Biden campaign is pausing all outbound communications and working to pull down television ads as quickly as possible, a campaign official told NOTUS.
Immediately after the shooting, Biden campaign staff were asked to “refrain from issuing any comments on social media or in public,” according to an email obtained by NOTUS. They were also asked to pause “any proactive campaign communications” on all platforms until more is known.
Biden told reporters Saturday night he has an “opinion” about whether or not the gunshots were part of an assassination attempt but said he needs more facts before he can share it.
The president went on to say that violence at a political rally was antithetical to American democracy.
“The bottom line is that the Trump rally is a rally he should have been able to be conducted peacefully without any problem,” the president said in the unscripted remarks from Delaware, where he is spending the weekend. “But the idea, the idea, that there is political violence or violence like this is just unheard of. It’s just not appropriate. Everybody, everybody must condemn it. Everybody.”
Biden said he is being regularly briefed by officials on the incident and thanked the Secret Service and first responders for their work on the ground. He noted that authorities are “fully investigating” the incident.
The president, who delivered the remarks from an Emergency Briefing Room in Rehoboth, did not respond to questions about security at the Trump rally or about his own safety. A White House official said the president would return to Washington later Saturday night.
In an initial statement, Biden said he was “grateful” to hear Trump was “safe and doing well.” Trump was escorted offstage at his Pennsylvania event with a bloodied ear. Local law enforcement confirmed that the shooter and one rally attendee were killed in the incident.
“I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we wait for further information,” Biden said in the earlier statement. “There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.”
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Evan McMorris-Santoro and Jasmine Wright are reporters at NOTUS.
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