Biden condemns political violence, says shooting is 'sick'
In brief remarks from Rehoboth Beach, Biden said that he has been thoroughly briefed on the incident and he hopes to speak to Trump tonight.
"I tried to get ahold of Donald. He’s with his doctors," Biden said. "I plan on talking to him, shortly, I hope."
Biden said there's "no place in America for this kind of violence."
"It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons we have to unite this country," he said. "We cannot condone this."
Biden said it appears Trump is doing well and said that he'll keep the press informed and will let them know if he's able to speak to Trump.
The president said that he would be going back to his phone to get any updates from the federal government agencies involved in the investigation.
"I hope I get to speak to him tonight," he said.
Asked if it was an assassination attempt, Biden said, "I have an opinion, but I don't have all the facts." He said he wants to learn more information before commenting.
Donald Trump Jr. says his father 'is in great spirits'
Donald Trump Jr. said he's spoken to his father and he's in "great spirits."
Trump Jr. said in a statement through his spokesman that he'd spoken to Trump on the phone. "He will never stop fighting to save America, no matter what the radical left throws at him,” Trump Jr. said.
His brother Eric Trump, meanwhile, tweeted a picture of his injured father pumping his fist in the air after the shooting. "This is the fighter America needs!" the post read.
Biden campaign to pull ads in wake of rally violence
President Joe Biden's re-election campaign will pull its television advertising in the wake of today's violence at Trump's rally in Pennsylvania, a campaign official said.
"The Biden campaign is pausing all outbound communications and working to pull down our television ads as quickly as possible," the official told NBC News.
In a statement released by the White House tonight, Biden said the nation must unite to decry such violence.
Witness says man was shot dead while facing Trump
A doctor who was the rally said he saw one person dead.
The doctor, who identified himself as Joseph, said he was sitting in the bleachers at the far left of the podium when he heard shots ring out.
A couple of yards away, he said he saw a man — a fellow spectator — fall to the bottom of the bleachers after being shot in the back of the head. He said the man was facing the former president and appeared to be in the way of someone who was aiming and firing at Trump.
Joseph said the man was instantly killed, from what he could tell. Pennsylvania State Police and a SWAT team then began evacuating everyone, he said. Joseph said he helped officials carry the dead man and that officers placed a towel on the man's head before carrying him away.
At first, Joseph said, he was in shock and that he knew the pops were gunshots but didn’t know where they were coming from. They were “very loud” and “very close," he said.
Joseph said after the man was shot, he was able to piece together that it looked like the shots were coming from behind the bleachers.
He said others thought it was a joke at first and that it sounded like fireworks. It was "rather chaotic at that point," Joseph said.
Another woman nearby appeared to have been shot in the forearm or in the hand, he said, adding that he counted seven shots and the injured woman was hit within those first seven shots.
Biden says nation must be united in condemning violence at Trump rally
President Joe Biden issued a formal statement on the incident at the former president's rally in Pennsylvania today.
"There’s no place for this kind of violence in America," Biden said. "We must unite as one nation to condemn it."
Biden said he's been briefed on what took place, but he did not add to the narrative, except to say, "I’m grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well."
He added, "I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information."
Biden said he and the first lady are grateful that the U.S. Secret Service was able to get Trump to safety.
Biden will make remarks shortly from Rehoboth Beach
Biden is about to speak from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Trump campaign tells staff not to speak to media, 'everything is OK'
Trump’s campaign is in a “complete communications lockdown,” according to a message sent to staff by James Blair, the political director for the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee.
“Everything is OK,” Blair wrote. “We have no details to share at this time but will follow up soon with more information.”
“Anyone who speaks with the press, even on background or off the record, will be found and terminated immediately,” Blair wrote, according to two people who received the message and shared it with NBC News. “Refrain from commenting, speculating, posting on social media, etc. Complete and total lockdown.”
Blair went on to say to all staff, “your personal safety is of the utmost importance. Please exercise extreme caution during this time.”
“Pray, remain vigilant, and be strong,” he concluded. “We WILL Make America Great Again.”
‘We wanted to help the president’: Attendee recalls moment shots fired at Trump rally
Misleading and false claims spread quickly online
Conspiracy theories, unverified claims and misleading social media posts have racked up millions of views on X in the immediate aftermath.
One of the most quickly emerging, and so far unsupported, narratives to come out of the incident is that the incident was staged. On X, the word “staged” became the second-highest trending topic immediately after “Trump,” with over 228,000 posts on the platform using the term. In just an hour, numerous posts on X claiming the apparent shooting was staged were viewed several millions of times. There is no evidence to support any claims that the shooting was staged.
Associated phrases like “BB gun” also made it into X’s trending tab, with some people claiming without evidence that the weapon used in the incident was a BB gun or a weaker class of firearm.
Major accounts on X also quickly began circulating the photo of an Italian soccer commentator, claiming that he was the shooter and part of Antifa. There is no reporting or statement from law enforcement supporting the claim at this time.
Pennsylvania attorney general says she's in touch with law enforcement partners
Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry, a Democrat, said she's in touch with law enforcement partners and will work cooperatively with them.
“I am deeply disturbed by this act of violence that has absolutely no place in the Commonwealth or anywhere," she said. My regards are with the families who will be forever impacted by this heinous act.
"I am hopeful for a speedy recovery for former President Trump," she added.