In an address from the White House on Sunday afternoon, President Joe Biden spoke about yesterday’s assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump and cautioned Americans against making “assumptions about [the shooter’s] motives or his affiliations.”
He spoke about the importance of national unity and promised to speak on the subject more during an Oval Office address Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET.
The president also spoke about the “short but good conversation” he had with Trump earlier today, adding that “Jill and I are keeping him and his family in our prayers.”
Biden mentioned the briefing he had in the White House Situation Room earlier Sunday that included Vice President Kamala Harris and top White House advisers.
Biden also said he’s asked the director of the Secret Service to review all security measures for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, which begins tomorrow. The president also said he’s asked for an independent review of security at yesterday’s rally and promised to publicly share the results of that review.
The president spoke forcefully against political violence, echoing his remarks from Saturday night.
“An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation,” he said Sunday.
Biden’s remarks come one day after Trump was shot during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
In his initial remarks reacting to the shooting on Saturday evening, Biden condemned the violence, saying, “It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons we have to unite this country. … We cannot condone this.”
