President Joe Biden said Saturday that “everybody must condemn” the suspected assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, adding that he hoped to speak with his 2024 presidential rival soon.
Addressing the nation about two hours after the shooting, Biden said he was relieved that Trump is reportedly “doing well.” He said he had been unable to reach Trump before his remarks and pledged to update the public later Saturday on whether they speak as well as additional details about the investigation.
“We cannot allow this to be happening,” Biden said. “The idea that there’s violence in America like this is just unheard of.”
Biden, speaking without a teleprompter, said he was waiting for additional information before formally calling the attack an attempted assassination on the former president.
“I have an opinion, but I don’t have any facts,” he told reporters, pledging to provide updates as he learns more.
The president delivered remarks from the White House’s emergency briefing room in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, which is set up whenever the president travels to allow him to deliver remarks to the country in a matter of minutes. He was spending the weekend at his beach home and was at a nearby church for mass when the shooting occurred.
Biden received an “initial briefing” from aides after he left church minutes after the shooting and then convened security officials for a more in-depth update from Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the United States Secret Service, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and White House homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall.
After the shooting at Trump’s rally, the Biden campaign said it was pausing all messaging to supporters and working to pull down all of its television ads as quickly as possible, the campaign said.
Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement that she was also briefed, adding that she and her husband “are relieved” that Trump was not seriously inured.
“We are praying for him, his family, and all those who have been injured and impacted by this senseless shooting,” she said.
A bloodied Donald Trump is surrounded by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa, on July, 13, 2024. The former president was rushed off stage at rally after sounds like shots; the former president was escorted into his motorcade at his rally in Butler, Pa., a rural town about an hour north of Pittsburgh. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
Former President Donald Trump touches his ear as he speaks at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., on July, 13, 2024. Trump was escorted off the stage by Secret Service agents and into his motorcade just minutes into his rally in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, after a series of pops that sounded like gunshots rang out. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
Former President Donald Trump inspects his hand after touching his ear, as he speaks at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa, on July, 13, 2024. Trump was escorted off the stage by Secret Service agents and into his motorcade just minutes into his rally in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, after a series of pops that sounded like gunshots rang out. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is covered by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (Evan Vucci/AP)
Secret Service tend to republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump onstage after a popping noise was heard at a rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is helped off the stage at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (Evan Vucci/AP)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is covered by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (Evan Vucci/AP)
A bloodied Donald Trump is surrounded by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa, on July, 13, 2024. The former president was escorted off the stage by Secret Service agents and into his motorcade just minutes into his rally in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, after a series of pops that sounded like gunshots rang out. (Eric Lee/The New York Times)
People take cover as U.S. Secret Service agents surround Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump on stage at a campaign rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (Evan Vucci/AP)
A bloodied Donald Trump is surrounded by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa, on July, 13, 2024. The former president was escorted off the stage by Secret Service agents and into his motorcade just minutes into his rally in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, after a series of pops that sounded like gunshots rang out. (Eric Lee/The New York Times)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (Evan Vucci/AP)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (Evan Vucci/AP)
People hug after Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump was helped off the stage at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
People react after a series of pops that sounded like gunshots as former President Donald Trump appears at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa, on Saturday, July, 13, 2024. The former president was escorted off the stage by Secret Service agents and into his motorcade just minutes into his rally in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, after a series of pops that sounded like gunshots rang out. (Eric Lee/The New York Times)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he is escorted into a vehicle at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)
U.S. Secret Service agents surround the stage as other agents cover Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (Evan Vucci/AP)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (Evan Vucci/AP)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents as he is taken to a vehicle at a campaign rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (Evan Vucci/AP)
Law enforcement officers gather at the campaign rally site for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. Trump’s campaign said in a statement that the former president was “fine” after a shooting at his rally in Butler (Evan Vucci/AP)
A campaign rally site for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is empty and littered with debris on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (Evan Vucci/AP)
A campaign rally site for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is empty and littered with debris July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (Evan Vucci/AP)
A campaign rally site for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is empty on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. Trump’s campaign said in a statement that the former president was “fine” after a shooting at his rally in Butler (Evan Vucci/AP)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (Evan Vucci/AP)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (Evan Vucci/AP)
