DONALD TRUMP SURVIVES ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

 

Former President Donald Trump was injured during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday evening, in what the FBI has described as an assassination attempt. Trump reported on social media that he was shot in the ear.

The Secret Service confirmed that the gunman and at least one audience member are dead, while two other attendees are critically injured. Agents rushed Trump off the stage, noting he had blood on his face, and ensured his safety.

The FBI has identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. Authorities reported that Crooks fired multiple shots from a building rooftop near the rally venue before being killed by Secret Service agents.

Eyewitnesses described the scene as "bloody" and chaotic. One attendee called it "pure insanity."

President Joe Biden spoke with Trump following the incident and condemned the violence in remarks later that night. Biden returned to the White House from Delaware ahead of schedule to receive briefings from law enforcement.

GOP Senate candidate who witnessed assassination attempt says rhetoric needs to be "dialed back across the board"

A Pennsylvania Senate candidate who witnessed the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on Saturday described the scene as "very scary" and urged the nation to reduce political rhetoric.

“The president went down immediately and Secret Service jumped on top of him,” GOP candidate Dave McCormick, who was sitting in the front row of Trump’s rally, told ABC Sunday morning

He later added:“An inch difference and the president would have been dead.”

McCormick recounted standing up amid the chaos and realizing that someone behind him was seriously injured.

“It was evident that he was severely injured and bleeding profusely,” he said.

McCormick emphasized that while Americans may have differing ideas, these conflicts should never lead to physical violence against candidates.

“We must not resort to violence to advance political agendas. This rhetoric needs to be dialed back across the board,” he said.

Call between Trump and Biden was "short and respectful," source says

A source briefed on President Joe Biden's call to former President Donald Trump following the assassination attempt on Saturday night described the conversation between the rivals as "good" and "short and respectful."

Aside from Saturday's call, the two men hadn't spoken directly in years, only interacting through moderators during last month's  debate.

Authorities push back on claim Trump requested additional security and was denied

Authorities overseeing security at the Saturday rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where former President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt, are disputing claims that Trump was denied requests for additional security.

The US Secret Service has labeled the claim

“There’s an untrue assertion that a member of the former President’s team requested additional security resources & that those were rebuffed. This is absolutely false. In fact, we added protective resources & technology & capabilities as part of the increased campaign travel tempo,” Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi wrote in a post on X Sunday morning. 

The FBI also pushed back on the implication Saturday night.

“There was no additional request for security that was ever denied by the FBI,” Kevin Rojek, the FBI special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh office, said during a news conference Saturday night.

At least one lawmaker, Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida, has publicly claimed on social media that Trump’s requests for heightened security were rejected.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas released a statement regarding the shooting, where he said the DHS and Secret Service are jointly working with law enforcement on the investigation.