Biden ups Trump’s Secret Service protection after assassination attempt, orders investigation
President Biden said Sunday he is “grateful” Donald Trump is doing “well” after surviving an assassination attempt Saturday night, speaking about the need for “unity” during this time.
The president said he spoke with the Secret Service and directed them to provide Trump with every “resource” of protection given the shooting, and to monitor security at the Republican National Convention.
“I’ve directed an independent review of national security at yesterday’s rally to assess exactly what happened and we’ll share the results of that independent review with the American people as well,” Biden said, speaking at the White House.
“We also extend our deepest condolences to the family of the victim who was killed. He was a father, who was protecting his family from the bullets that were being fired.”
The president said he will deliver further remarks from the Oval Office tonight about “unity.”
The White House also said the president rescheduled his Monday trip to Texas.
Trump was shot in the upper ear Saturday evening by a gunman positioned opposite the Butler, Penn., rally. The former president avoided being shot in the head by moving at the last second, and ducked down after being hit. One audience member was fatally shot by the gunman, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Cook.
Biden changed his weekend schedule after the assassination attempt on Trump. The president returned to the White House from his home in Rehoboth, Delaware, after giving remarks at a police station about the shooting.
“Look, there’s no place in America for this kind of violence. 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,” Biden said during his speech Saturday night.
“The bottom line is that the Trump rally was a rally that he should have been able to be conducted peacefully without any problem. But the idea, the idea that there’s political violence, or violence in America like this is just unheard of, is just not appropriate.”
The two 2024 rivals also spoke on the phone Saturday night after Trump was escorted away from the rally.
The octogenarian president was facing mounting pressure from Congressional Democrats and other close allies to suspend his 2024 bid after his disastrous debate against Trump on June 27. The assassination attempt has at least temporarily appeared to stall the Democrat talks, but Sen. Chuck Schumer was meeting with Biden in Rehoboth on Saturday.
Everything we know about the Trump assassination attempt
- 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks was identified as the shooter who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
- Crooks was shot dead by Secret Service agents.
- The gunman grazed Trump’s ear, killed a 50-year-old retired fire chief, and injured two other rally-goers.
- Investigators detailed Crooks’ search history to lawmakers, revealing that he looked for the dates of Trump’s appearances and the Democratic National Convention.
- Crooks’ search history also revealed a broad interest in high-profile people and celebrities, regardless of their political affiliation, FBI officials reportedly said.
- Trump exclusively recounted surviving the “surreal” assassination attempt with The Post at the rally, remarking, “I’m supposed to be dead.”
- High-profile politicians, including President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, addressed the nation about the shooting, calling it “a heinous, horrible and cowardly act.”
The White House initially called the Trump shooting an “incident” as the news broke out Saturday.
Trump said he is on course to deliver remarks at the Republican National Convention beginning Monday. The RNC is expected to go on as planned with increased security around its perimeter in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
