“There’s no place in America for this kind of violence,” President Biden said in a nationally televised statement.
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President Biden condemned the shooting incident at former President Donald J. Trump’s rally and expressed gratitude that Mr. Trump survived and was evacuated.
President Biden condemned the shooting incident at former President Donald J. Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday and expressed gratitude that Mr. Trump survived and was evacuated.
“Look, there’s no place in America for this kind of violence,” Mr. Biden said in a nationally televised statement. “It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country. We cannot allow for this to be happening. We cannot be like this. We cannot condone this.”
Mr. Biden said he had tried to reach Mr. Trump but was not able to talk with him because the former president was with his doctors. He said he would try again later in the evening. “Apparently, he’s doing well,” the president said. “I plan on talking with him shortly, I hope.”
Asked if he would characterize the incident as an assassination attempt, he said he had his own opinion but would wait for more facts to come in first.
“The bottom line is that the Trump rally was a rally that he should have been able to conduct peacefully without any problem,” Mr. Biden said. “But the idea, the idea, that there’s political violence or violence in America like this is just unheard of, it’s just not appropriate. Everybody, everybody must condemn it, everybody.”
Mr. Biden was at Rehoboth Beach, Del., where he has a residence, when the shooting occurred. After releasing an initial written statement, he left his residence in his motorcade and headed to a local police department building so he could address the matter on camera.
A White House official told reporters that Biden was briefed on the incident by Kimberly Cheatle, director of the Secret Service; Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary; and Liz Sherwood-Randall, the president’s homeland security adviser.
A Biden campaign official said the campaign was pausing all outbound communications and working to pull down its television advertising as quickly as possible in deference to the seriousness of the moment.
The president’s statement came after similar expressions by other senior Democrats, including Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Hakeem Jeffries, both from New York and the party leaders of their respective houses. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, Republican congressional leaders and former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama likewise issued comments. Vice President Kamala Harris issued her own statement after the president’s remarks.
Mr. Biden’s relative slowness to issue a statement drew criticism from a Republican senator, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee. “How has the White House said nothing?” he asked on social media shortly before Mr. Biden’s statement was released.
Representative Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat from Florida, called on Mr. Biden to deliver an address from the Oval Office to discuss the situation. “Bring the temperature down,” he wrote on social media. “Remind us we are all Americans.”
Peter Baker is the chief White House correspondent for The Times. He has covered the last five presidents and sometimes writes analytical pieces that place presidents and their administrations in a larger context and historical framework. More about Peter Baker
See more on: U.S. Politics, President Joe Biden, Donald Trump
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Source: nytimes.com
