Biden Delivers Huge Announcement After Trump Attacked
On Sunday night, President Joe Biden addressed the nation from the Oval Office following an attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, urging his “fellow Americans” to work together to “lower the temperature in our politics.”
At Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, he had only been speaking briefly when gunfire erupted. Trump was struck in the ear, received treatment at a nearby medical facility, and was subsequently released.
Several attendees were also injured during the incident. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro reported that Corey Comperatore, 50, from Sarver, Pennsylvania, was shot and killed while he “tried to shield family” from the gunfire. Additionally, James Copenhaver, 74, from Moon Township, Pennsylvania, and David Dutch, 57, from New Kensington, Pennsylvania, were injured and are now in stable condition.
Secret Service agents neutralized the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, a twenty-year-old who was positioned outside the security barrier with metal detectors, on a rooftop near the event. The shooting is being investigated as an attempted assassination.
“My fellow Americans,” Biden began his live address. “I want to speak to you tonight about the need for us to lower the temperature in our politics and to remember, while we may disagree, we are not enemies. We are neighbors, we’re friends, co-workers, citizens, and most importantly, we are fellow Americans. We must stand together.”
Biden emphasized that the shooting “calls on all of us to take a step back” and expressed his “gratefulness” that Trump was “not seriously injured,” noting that he and First Lady Jill Biden were keeping Trump in their prayers. Biden also mentioned that he had spoken to Trump the previous night and that Trump was “doing well.”
Offering his condolences and prayers for the victims, Biden noted that the investigation was “ongoing,” with the shooter’s motive, opinions, and affiliations not yet known.
Biden lamented that “a former president was shot” and “an American citizen killed while simply exercising his freedom to support the candidate of his choosing.”
“We cannot, we must not go down this road in America, we’ve traveled to before throughout our history. Violence has never been the answer, whether it’s with members of Congress of both parties being targeted and shot or a violent mob attacking the Capitol on January 6 or a brutal attack on the spouse of former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, or intimidation on election officials, or the kidnapping plot against a sitting governor, or an attempted assassination on Donald Trump. There’s no place in America for this kind of violence, for any violence ever, period, no exceptions. We cannot allow this violence to be normalized,” Biden declared.
The FBI has officially classified the shooting attack on former President Donald Trump shortly after his rally began in Butler, Pa., as an “assassination attempt,” although the motive remains undetermined.
Pennsylvania State Police mentioned at a press conference that one shooter has been “tentatively identified,” as reported by Axios.
Meanwhile, Anthony Guglielmi, the chief of communications for the U.S. Secret Service, released a statement Saturday evening.
“During former President Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on the evening of July 13th at approximately 6:15 p.m., a suspected shooter fired multiple shots toward the stage from an elevated position outside of the rally venue,” he said. “US Secret Service personnel neutralized the shooter, who is now deceased. US Secret Service quickly responded with protective measures and the former president is safe and being evaluated. One spectator was killed, two spectators were critically injured. The incident is currently under investigation, and the Secret Service has formally notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
Trump’s senior advisers, Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, confirmed that Trump will attend the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, which starts on Monday.