- President Joe Biden: ‘There is no such thing as violence anywhere in America. It is sick.’
- READ MORE: Follow DailyMail.com’s live blog for more details on the shooting
President Joe Biden said Saturday night that there is no place for “sick” political violence in America and said he was grateful that former President Donald Trump is safe.
He spoke to the media about two hours after shots were fired at Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
“There is no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick. It’s sick,” he said.
“It’s one of the reasons we need to unite this country.
The president said he was trying to reach Trump, who is believed to be in a hospital near the protest site.
President Joe Biden speaks about the shooting at a Donald Trump campaign rally
He said the investigation was ongoing and he would not make a definitive judgment that the attack amounted to an attempted murder.
“I have an opinion, but I have no facts,” he replied to a question from a journalist.
“I want to make sure we have all the facts before I make any further comments.”
He thanked the Secret Service and other agencies.
“The bottom line is that the Trump rally was a rally that should have taken place peacefully and without incident,” he said.
“But the idea, the idea that there is political violence or violence in America like this, is just unheard of. It’s just not appropriate. Everybody, everybody needs to condemn it, everybody.”
Biden returned from a campaign rally in Detroit, Michigan, late Friday night and spent the weekend at his beachfront home in Delaware.
But he threw a spanner in the works by calling the media for a briefing at the police station in Rehoboth.
His campaign team announced that they would cease all communications and attempt to stop all TV advertising.
Two hours earlier, there was chaos at a Trump campaign rally.
The former president was in full flight before shots were heard. Trump grabbed his right ear with his right hand, brought his hand down to look at it and sank to his knees behind the podium before Secret Service agents surrounded him and covered him up.
Biden issued a statement just before he appeared before the cameras.
“I have been briefed on the shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania,” he said.
“I am grateful to hear that he is safe and doing well. I am praying for him and his family and everyone who was at the rally as we wait for more information.”
“Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for keeping him safe. There is no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.”