Rep. Dan Meuser: As shots rang out, ‘I was thinking the worst’
Pennsylvania Rep. Dan Meuser on Sunday described what he saw during Saturday’s rally where former President Donald Trump was shot, saying, “I really was thinking the worst. And so you get a surge of anger or frustration of wanting to do something.”
Meuser, who spoke at the rally several minutes before Trump, was standing near the front of the crowd alongside Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate David McCormick.
“We were trying to even get over the barrier” after the shots rang out, Meuser told NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” adding, “and then, of course, the Secret Service was on it immediately.”
An eyewitness describes 'nightmare' as two victims were shot in front of her
"That was a nightmare what I just lived through," Donna Hutz, an eyewitness to the assassination attempt on Trump, said on Sunday morning.
Hutz said she was seated in the section of the bleachers behind Trump where two spectators, a man and a woman, were shot. Speaking on a special edition of NBC News’ “TODAY” show this morning, Hutz said she heard three shots, in what sounded to her like "a cap gun."
In the following seconds, Hutz said, "everything was going on. My son says, 'Get down, it's a gun.' People were getting down as we were getting down."
From her position lying on the ground, Hutz described seeing the victims. "Both the man and the woman were laying on the bleachers, they just fell down in front of them." She said another man laid a towel on the head of the man who had been shot "out of respect" as others began yelling for medics.
"We knew at that point the man probably did not make it," she said. "It's something that you never want to witness."
Trump campaign advisers urge staff to stay home
Senior advisers for the Trump campaign, Chris LaCivita and Susie Wile, have urged staff not to come into either the D.C. or West Palm Beach office on Sunday as they ensure the security of both locations.
“We are enhancing the armed security presence with 24/7 officers on-site,” they wrote in a letter. “Additional security assessments will be in place. Our highest priority is to keep all of you on this staff safe.”
They confirmed that the Republican National Committee convention that begins in Milwaukee tomorrow will continue as planned.
Speaker Mike Johnson on Trump shooting: ‘Everyone needs to turn the rhetoric down’
Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday told NBC News that former President Donald Trump’s shooting on Saturday is evidence that Americans need to “turn the rhetoric down.”
“We’re all Americans, and we have to treat one another with dignity and respect,” Johnson said while casting some blame on President Joe Biden, who told supporters on a campaign call last week that it was time to refocus the presidential race away from his age and back onto Trump.
Two patients in critical condition
Two patients who attended Trump's rally remain in critical condition after they were admitted to the hospital last night.
Dan Laurent, vice president of corporate communications at Allegheny Health Network, confirmed that both were being treated at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.
'We’re demonizing each other too much,' says Trump supporter
David Brown, a 51-year-old Trump supporter from Pittsburgh, reacted to the attempted assassination by asking Americans to tone down the rhetoric.
“We’re demonizing each other too much,” said Brown, who works for a telecom company in Pittsburgh. Brown says Trump is “not as bad as he’s been made out of to be,” and his supporters are also misunderstood.
“We’re not as bad as we’ve been vilified to be,” said Brown of Trump supporters like himself. “A lot of us are just hardworking Americans that would just want to see a decent country again,” he added.
Brown said the emotions he’s feeling are “shock, anger, horrified,” but Americans thrive under adversity. “I think when tragedy does happen, though, it’s when Americans do reveal their better qualities,” said Brown.
Eyewitness who was just feet away from Trump says she had 'no idea it was a bullet'
An eyewitness who was only feet away from the lectern when a bullet damaged Donald Trump’s ear said she had no idea the former president was injured at first and that there was a shooter when he was pushed down to the ground.
Erin Autenreith told a special edition of NBC's “TODAY” show this morning that she heard what she thought was fireworks, before she saw Secret Service agents pushing the former president to the ground.
One second Trump was speaking and showing a picture on a big screen — the next he was on the floor.
“Then I looked at him, and while the four Secret Service jumped on the stage and pushed him straight down. Then they also pushed on all the photographers that were down there, there was like a pile of them, nobody was moving for a couple of minutes.
“I thought somebody was having a party but then everything, everything just stopped and, I mean, I thought it was five minutes into the speech, but I think now it was 10 minutes into the speech.”
The Trump supporter had been at the rally site since 7 a.m. working as a volunteer.
“I thought he was injured by being pushed down to the ground,” she said.
She added that the Secret Service agents lifted Trump up off the ground, he said he had to put his shoes on. “So they must have fallen off,” she said. “And I thought that that’s when I didn’t think that he was injured. I thought he was injured just by them pushing him down. I had no idea it was a bullet.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. calls for unity after shooting
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as an independent, has called for unity after the shooting and offered his prayers to Donald Trump.
His father, Robert F. Kennedy, was assassinated while campaigning for the presidency in 1968.
“Now is the time for every American who loves our country to step back from the division, renounce all violence, and unite in prayer for President Trump and his family,” he posted on X.
Biden aide responds to accusations of incendiary rhetoric
An aide to Biden responded to accusations from Trump allies that Biden’s rhetoric was responsible for the assassination attempt on the former president.
The aide pointed to “the continual comments the president has made condemning political violence and saying it can never happen, before and during the presidency.”
On Saturday following the attack, Biden said there was “no place in America for this kind of violence,” adding “It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons we have to unite this country.”
Secret Service disputes claim that additional security was rejected
Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi has dismissed claims that additional security at the Trump rally was requested and rejected.
"There's an untrue assertion that a member of the former President’s team requested additional security resources & that those were rebuffed," he posted on X.
"This is absolutely false. In fact, we added protective resources & technology & capabilities as part of the increased campaign travel tempo."