WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden led the condemnation after his election rival Donald Trump was wounded in an apparent assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday, as some Republicans blamed the Biden campaign for the violence.
Political leaders on both sides of the aisle slammed the attack minutes after the Republican candidate was rushed off stage by the Secret Service with blood running down his face.
“There’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country... We cannot be like this, we cannot condone this,” Biden told reporters in an emergency briefing at his house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
“The idea that there’s political violence, or violence in America like this, is just unheard of. It’s just not appropriate. Everybody, everybody must condemn it. Everybody,” Biden said.
Vice President Kamala Harris said on X: “We are praying for him, his family, and all those who have been injured and impacted by this senseless shooting.”
Biden’s former boss, Barack Obama, echoed his words in a statement, saying there was “absolutely no place for political violence in our democracy.”
“Although we don’t yet know exactly what happened, we should all be relieved that former President Trump wasn’t seriously hurt, and use this moment to recommit ourselves to civility and respect in our politics,” he said on X.
Former president George W. Bush condemned the “cowardly” attack.
“Laura and I are grateful that President Trump is safe following the cowardly attack on his life. And we commend the men and women of the Secret Service for their speedy response,” the Republican said in a statement.
Bill and Hillary Clinton also condemned the violence.
“Hillary and I are thankful that President Trump is safe, heartbroken for all those affected by the attack at today’s rally in Pennsylvania, and grateful for the swift action of the US Secret Service,” the former president wrote on X.
But some prominent Republicans, including one of Trump’s potential running mates, J.D. Vance, swiftly pointed the finger at Biden’s reelection campaign.
“Today is not just some isolated incident,” Vance wrote on X. “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 led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”
“The Republican District Attorney in Butler County, PA, should immediately file charges against Joseph R. Biden for inciting an assassination,” wrote Republican Congressman Mike Collins of Georgia, also on X.
Trump’s shocked children also took to social media.
“This is the fighter America needs!” son Eric Trump wrote above a photo of his father with blood running down his cheek, his fist in the air and an American flag waving in the background as the Secret Service rushed him from the stage.
Donald Trump Jr posted the same photo, writing on X: “He’ll never stop fighting to Save America.”
“I love you Dad, today and always,” daughter Ivanka posted on X, thanking supporters as well as the Secret Service for their “quick and decisive actions today.”
“I continue to pray for our country,” she said.
From the Senate, top Democrat Chuck Schumer said he was “horrified” by the shooting, while his Republican counterpart Mitch McConnell slammed it as “despicable.”
“I thank God that former President Trump is safe. As we learn more details about this horrifying incident, let us pray that all those in attendance at the former President’s rally today are unharmed,” former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote on X.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk said Saturday that he “fully” endorses Trump after the rally violence, and hopes “for his rapid recovery.”
“Had it been less than a half inch to the right, he would not have survived,” the Republican governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, posted on X.
“Trump is truly blessed.”
Vivek Ramaswamy, who challenged Trump for the Republican presidential nomination at the primaries, said the same.
“We believe the fact that President Trump is safe right now is nothing short of an act of God,” he wrote on X.
“Today, the future survival of the United States of America came down to less than a hair’s width in the path of a bullet.”
