- 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 spoke to Donald Trump on Saturday night following the attempted assassination of his rival and condemned the “sick” political violence in America.
The president rushed back to the White House from his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, after a gunman opened fire at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Biden addressed the media about two hours after the chaos that saw shots fired at Trump.
“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.”
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.
Donald Trump stood and gave a clenched fist salute to his supporters in the crowd before being led away by his Secret Service unit
The rally venue was quickly evacuated after shots were fired at Trump on Saturday night
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.”
