Trump calls for unity in the face of ‘evil’ after assassination attempt
Donald Trump has called for unity in the face of “evil” after he survived an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, as investigators worked feverishly to determine how and why the suspected gunman targeted the former US president.
“God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening,” Trump, 78, posted on his Truth Social app on Sunday.
“We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness.”
He expressed condolences to the victims of the attack that left one person dead and two others critically injured.
“We pray for the recovery of those who were wounded, and hold in our hearts the memory of the citizen who was so horribly killed,” he said.
“In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win.”
The FBI has identified the suspected gunman as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was shot and killed by Secret Service snipers at the scene on Saturday.
(Photo: Reuters/Brendan McDermid)
Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Secret Service, said that the suspected gunman was on “an elevated position” outside the security barriers. This would mean he was not screened by metal detectors as were the thousands of people who attended the event.
Officers recovered an AR-15-type semi-automatic rifle from a deceased white male they believe was the gunman at the scene, law enforcement officials told The New York Times. The gun was purchased by a family member, possibly his father, the newspaper reported.
Officers found two explosive devices in Crook’s car and believe they have may have found a third at his home, officials said.
Trump fell to the ground after being struck by one bullet and was quickly rushed away from the scene in the city of Butler. He has since been discharged from hospital and spoke of the attack on Truth Social.
He wrote: “I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin.
“Much bleeding took place, so I realised then what was happening.”
Seconds after Secret Service agents rushed to cover Mr Trump, he emerged from the ground, dishevelled with blood splattered on the right side of his face.
“Wait, wait, wait, wait,” he called out as the agents began moving him off the stage, before he raised his fist in the air. He appeared to yell “fight, fight” at the crowds, who roared and responded “USA”.
Trump was rushed to a waiting SUV, gesturing and shouting as he went.
A spokesman for the Secret Service said Mr Trump is “safe”, and his campaign team said that the Republican presidential candidate was “fine”.
The gunman’s motives were not immediately clear, although local media reports suggested he was a registered member of the Republican party. Officers closed down all roads leading to the suspect’s family home in Bethel Park, just over 50 miles south of the site of the rally.
Mr Trump’s wife, former first lady Melania Trump, denounced the gunman as a “monster” who saw her husband as “an inhuman political machine”.
“Let us not forget that differing opinions, policy, and political games are inferior to love,” she said in a statement published on social media on Sunday.
US President Joe Biden, Mr Trump’s rival in the upcoming presidential election on 5 November, was in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, when the shooting happened, and rushed back to the White House on Saturday.
“There is no place for this kind of violence, it’s sick, it’s sick,” said Mr Biden, who was scheduled to receive a briefing from homeland security and law enforcement officials at the White House on Sunday.
“We cannot allow for this to be happening. We cannot be like this.”
A witness, who identified himself as a doctor named Joseph, told NBC he helped carry a dead man from the scene and that another woman had been injured in the hand.
Joseph initially thought the incident was a “prank” or fireworks, and only took it seriously when the swat team stormed the stage.
Another witness said he saw a man on top of a roof shortly prior to an incident with a “rifle”.
“We noticed the guy crawling up the roof of the building beside us, 50 feet away from us,” the man, named as Greg, told the BBC. “He had a rifle, we could clearly see him with a rifle.”
Greg said they pointed the man out to police.
“Next thing you know, I’m thinking to myself why is Trump still speaking? Why have they not pulled him off the stage? I’m standing there pointing at him… the next thing you know, five shots ring out.”
Another witness, who gave his name as Conrad Conti, told Sky News that Mr Trump was just two or three minutes into his speech when the shots began, and that there had been metal detectors at the entrance to the site.
Mr Conti, who was sat on the third row at the rally, said there was “panic” and “chaos”.
Biden and Trump have spoken on the phone
Mr Biden said he was “grateful to hear” that Mr Trump was “safe and doing well” and urged the US to “unite as one nation to condemn it”.
“I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information,” he said.
“Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety. There’s no place for this kind of violence in America.”
The White House said the pair had spoken on the phone, saying the call was “short and respectful”.
The Biden campaign said it was pausing outbound communications and pulling television ads following the incident.
Mr Trump was taken to New Jersey where he recovered at his golf club in Bedminster, where a small group supporters gathered at the entrance on Sunday.
Mr Trump’s campaign team confirmed he will attend the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which begins on Monday, where he is set to be officially named the Republican party’s nominee for president and announce his pick for vice-president at the event.
The campaign says Mr Trump is “doing well” and “grateful to law enforcement and first responders”.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “appalled by the shocking scenes at Mr Trump’s rally and we send him and his family our best wishes”.
He added: “Political violence in any form has no place in our societies and my thoughts are with all the victims of this attack.”
Fellow former presidents and politicians from across the aisle united in criticism of the attack, with Barack Obama saying there was “absolutely no place for political violence in our democracy”.
“Although we don’t yet know exactly what happened, we should all be relieved that former president Trump wasn’t seriously hurt, and use this moment to recommit ourselves to civility and respect in our politics,” he said on X.
“Michelle and I are wishing him a quick recovery.”
Bill Clinton said that “violence has no place in America, especially in our political process”.
“Hillary and I are thankful that Mr Trump is safe, heartbroken for all those affected by the attack at today’s rally in Pennsylvania, and grateful for the swift action of the US Secret Service,” he said.
Speaker of the House, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, whose husband Paul was violently attacked in their home in 2022, described the incident as “horrifying”.
“As one whose family has been the victim of political violence, I know firsthand that political violence of any kind has no place in our society. I thank God that former President Trump is safe,” she said on X.
“As we learn more details about this horrifying incident, let us pray that all those in attendance at the former President’s rally today are unharmed.”
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said on social media: “This horrific act of political violence at a peaceful campaign rally has no place in this country and should be unanimously and forcefully condemned.”
