Former US President Donald Trump was injured and the Joe Biden administration was left embarrassed in a shooting at an election rally in Butler, Pennsylvania yesterday evening. While many prominent voices in the US have questioned the security preparations at the rally site, some Republican leaders have gone a step further and targeted Biden.
In his first reaction after the assassination attempt, Trump thanked the Secret Service and law enforcement officials for their quick response, but added, “It is unbelievable that an act like this could happen in our country.” Trump has said that a bullet grazed his right ear. One person in the audience was killed and two others were seriously injured in the shooting. The gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot.
Today’s incident is not just an isolated incident.
The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs.
That rhetoric directly led to an attempt to assassinate President Trump.
— JD Vance (@JDVance1) July 14, 2024
Republican Senator JD Vance, who could be Trump’s running mate in the US election later this year, said the shooting was “not just an isolated incident”. “The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. This rhetoric is what led to the assassination attempt on President Trump,” he said in a post on X.
Republican leader and Congress member Marjorie Taylor Greene alleged that Democrats want to kill Trump and his supporters.
Joe Biden told donors it was “time to take on Trump” and that’s exactly what happened.
House Democrats, led by Bennie Thompson, introduced a bill to strip President Trump of U.S.S. protection.
The armed DOJ has done everything possible to ensure the President… pic.twitter.com/0miP6i9YAK
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) July 14, 2024
“Joe Biden told donors that ‘it’s time to target Trump’ and that’s exactly what happened. House Democrats led by Bennie Thompson introduced a bill to strip USSS protection from President Trump.
“The armed DOJ has done everything possible to ensure that President Trump spends the rest of his life in prison while non-violent J6ers (people involved in the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021) are jailed for years. They want President Trump and his supporters dead. We will not forget,” he told a TV channel. In a separate post on X, he said, “The Democrats and the media are responsible for every drop of blood shed today. For years and years, they have demonised him and his supporters.”
US President Joe Biden has strongly condemned the incident. White House officials said he also spoke to the Republican leader and his arch rival in this election after the shooting.
“There’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sickening. It’s one of the reasons we have to unite this country… We can’t, we can’t condone this,” Biden told reporters at an emergency briefing after the attack on Trump.
“The idea that there is political violence, or violence of this sort, in America is unheard of. It’s not appropriate. Everybody should condemn it. Everybody,” Biden said.
Vice President Kamala Harris also condemned the shooting. “I have been briefed on the shooting at former President Trump’s event in Pennsylvania. Doug and I are relieved that he was not seriously injured. We are praying for him, his family, and all those who have been injured and affected by this senseless shooting.”
We are grateful to the United States Secret Service, first responders, and local authorities for their immediate action. This kind of violence has no place in our country. We must all condemn this despicable act and do our part to ensure it does not lead to more violence,” he said in a post on X.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley said in a statement that the former president is healthy and is grateful to law enforcement and first responders.
“President Trump looks forward to joining all of you in Milwaukee as we move forward with our convention to nominate him as the 47th president of the United States. As our party’s nominee, President Trump will continue to share his vision of Making America Great Again,” he said in a statement.
