Former President Trump was shot and injured during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday (July 13). President Biden delivered a speech on Saturday night, stating that the United States should not tolerate such acts of violence. He later conversed with Trump and the White House announced that Biden would be returning to the White House ahead of schedule.
The head of communications for the US Secret Service, Anthony Guglielmi, issued a statement at 9 pm Eastern Time, confirming that the gunman had been shot dead by the Secret Service, resulting in one fatality and three injuries in total.
On Saturday night, White House officials revealed that “this evening, President Biden spoke with former President Trump. The President also had conversations with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Butler Mayor Bob Danforth.”
The White House also stated that President Biden would be returning to the White House early from Ripoboth Beach, Delaware. The statement mentioned that Biden is scheduled to arrive at the White House at 12:30 am on Sunday.
Originally planning to stay in Delaware until Monday and then travel directly to Texas for an event, a senior government official disclosed that Biden’s return to the White House was to continue receiving briefings from law enforcement.
Danforth told CNN that during his conversation with President Biden, he received full support from the White House. “He (Biden) is willing to do anything for us, and I am willing to do the same,” Danforth said.
Earlier, Biden, in response to the attack in Ripoboth Beach, Delaware, stated, “This is awful.” “This is one of the reasons why we must unite this country,” he said. “We cannot allow this to happen. We can’t accept this. We can’t condone this behavior.”
He emphasized that political violence is “unheard of, unacceptable, and everyone must condemn it.”
Following the shooting incident at Trump’s rally, Biden’s campaign team halted all communications to supporters and is working to quickly pull down all television advertisements.
In an earlier statement, Biden expressed, “I am glad to hear he is safe and unharmed. My heart goes out to him, his family, and all those attending the rally, and we are waiting for more information.”
“Jill and I appreciate the Secret Service’s actions to protect Trump’s safety. This violence has no place in America. We must come together as a country and condemn it,” Biden said.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland stated on Saturday that he had informed President Biden about the shooting incident at Trump’s rally.
Garland expressed in a statement, “We will not tolerate any form of violence, and such violent acts are attacks on our democracy. The Justice Department will utilize all available resources to conduct an investigation.”