Donald Trump’s campaign says he is “fine” after what law enforcement officials are treating as an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Officials said the man who opened fire was a 20-year-old from Pennsylvania.
In a social media post, Trump said he was “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.” The former president was whisked from the stage by Secret Service agents with his ear covered in blood.
A prosecutor said the suspected gunman and at least one attendee are dead, and the Secret Service said two spectators were critically injured.
President Joe Biden and political leaders of all stripes condemned the attack.
In a memo to staff, Trump campaign says he’s ‘in great spirits’ and ‘doing well’ after the shooting In the memo, Trump’s senior campaign advisers thanked the Secret Service and all first responders for their efforts.
The memo also said staff in Washington and West Palm Beach, Florida, should stay away from the office as they assess those locations. The memo also says they’re enhancing the armed security presence on-site.
The memo also tells staff not to comment publicly on the apparent assassination attempt against Trump and that dangerous rhetoric on social media won’t be tolerated.
Trump says he’ll still be speaking at the Republican National Convention
The convention kicks off Monday in Milwaukee.
In a new post, Donald Trump calls for unity after his apparent assassination attempt.
In the post on his social media network, former President Donald Trump also thanked “everyone for their thoughts and prayers, as it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.”
The FBI early Sunday named Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the shooter in the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. The agency said the investigation remains active and ongoing.
The political leanings of Crooks were not immediately clear. Records show Crooks was registered as a Republican voter in Pennsylvania, but federal campaign finance reports also show he gave $15 to a progressive political action committee on Jan. 20, 2021, the day President Joe Biden was sworn into office.
Former President Donald Trump’s private jet landed shortly after midnight Sunday at Newark Liberty International Airport.
A video posted by an aide showed him deplaning flanked by U.S. Secret Service agents and heavily armed members of the agency’s counter-assault team, an unusually visible show of force by his protective detail.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden arrived at the White House early Sunday after cutting short a weekend trip to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
The White House said he would receive a briefing from Homeland Security and law enforcement officials on the attempted assassination of Trump later in the morning.