Donald Trump is said to be “safe” after being escorted off stage by Secret Service agents following a shooting at a rally in the swing state of Pennsylvania on Saturday.
The Republican presidential candidate crouched after the shots rang out and was escorted to his motorcade by armed Secret Service agents with blood running down his right ear and cheek.
Footage of the incident appears to show an agent saying “the shooter is down.” The Associated Press reported that the person was killed and a protester was killed in the incident, according to the district attorney in Butler County, Pennsylvania. A DA spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
trumpet punched hard in the face before being put in a car. It is unclear where he was taken.
Steven Cheung, communications director for the Trump campaign, said Trump was “fine” and “being checked out at a local medical facility.”
“President Trump thanks law enforcement and first responders for their swift action in this brutal act,” Cheung added.
The apparent attempt on Trump’s life marks the first time in decades that a sitting or former president has been the victim of a shooting. The dramatic incident threatens to upend an already chaotic presidential campaign with less than four months to go until the November vote.
The incident comes just days before the Republican National Convention opens, as Trump prepares to formally accept his party’s nomination for president.
“An incident occurred on the evening of July 13 at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania. The Secret Service took protective measures and the former President is safe,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi posted on X. “This is currently an active Secret Service investigation and more details will be released as they become available.” The Secret Service is responsible for protecting current and former presidents.
US President Joe Biden has been briefed on the shooting and is scheduled to address the nation on Saturday evening. “I am grateful to hear that he is safe and well,” Biden said. “My prayers are with him and his family and all those who were at the rally as we await further information.”
“There is no place for this kind of violence in America,” Biden added. “We must unite as a nation to condemn it.”
A Biden campaign official said the president’s re-election campaign is “pausing all external communications and working to remove television advertising as quickly as possible.”
The incident occurred just minutes after the former president began speaking at a rally of supporters in Butler, Pennsylvania, a rural town in the northwest corner of the state. Trump rallies are typically subject to airport-style security, run by the Secret Service in conjunction with local authorities.
Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro, said he had been “briefed on the situation” and that state police were at the scene of the protest and working with federal and local authorities.
The White House said the President of the United States Joe Bidenwho was in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, received an “initial briefing” on the incident from Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Homeland Security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall. The White House said Vice President Kamala Harris was also briefed.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was the first cabinet member to respond, saying: “In this terrible time, I am glad to hear from President Trump’s team that the former president is doing well.”
“The entire nation must speak with one voice today to completely and unequivocally reject all acts of political violence,” he added on X.
Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, said on X that he had been briefed on the situation and was “praying for President Trump.” Others, including Trump’s former vice president Mike Pence and Mike Pompeo, the former secretary of state, expressed similar sentiments.
Several leading Democrats expressed support for the former president.
Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, said in a statement that he was “horrified by what happened” and “relieved that former President Trump is safe”, adding: “Political violence has no place in our country”.
Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the US House of Representatives, agreed, saying he was “grateful for the aggressive response by law enforcement.”
Nancy Pelosi, the senior Democratic member of the US Congress, also offered her “condolences and prayers”, while former president Barack Obama said there was “absolutely no place for political violence in our democracy”.
International leaders also expressed support, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said he was “shocked” by the attack.
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