Biden Calls for Unity after Failed Trump-Assassination Attempt, Orders National-Security Review of Shooting

President Joe Biden addressed the American people from the White House on Sunday, in his second public statement since the assassination attempt against his rival, former president Donald Trump, and directed an independent national-security review of the shooting while calling for unity in the face of violence.

Biden briefly spoke on Sunday afternoon about his phone call with Trump last night and the ongoing law-enforcement investigation, with Vice President Kamala Harris and Attorney General Merrick Garland beside him.

“Last night, I spoke with Donald Trump. I’m sincerely grateful that he’s doing well and recovering. We had a short but good conversation. Jill and I are keeping him and his family in our prayers. We also extend our deepest condolences to the family of the victim who was killed. He was a father. He was protecting his family from the bullets that were being fired. He lost his life, God love him,” Biden began.

“An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation, everything. It’s not who we are as a nation, it’s not America, and we cannot allow this to happen. Unity is the most elusive goal of all, but nothing is [more] important than that right now: unity.”

Top national-security officials, including the FBI director and the attorney general, briefed Biden and Harris earlier today. Biden said the shooter has been identified but cautioned Americans not to come to conclusions about the attacker’s motivations.

The FBI identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pa., as the shooter who fired at Trump and his supporters, killing at least one person and critically wounding two more. Former fire chief Corey Comperatore, 50, a victim of the shooting, died protecting his family from bullets. A Secret Service sniper killed Crooks during the shooting.

In the wake of the assassination attempt, Biden renewed his commitment to give Trump all the security protection he needs and ordered the Secret Service to beef up security at the upcoming Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wis.

“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 stated.

Trump said on Truth Social this afternoon that he will be traveling to the convention as planned rather than letting the would-be assassin alter his schedule. A bullet grazed the former president’s ear on Saturday, sending him to the ground until Secret Service personnel helped him to his feet.

With blood streaked across his face, Trump fist-pumped and chanted to the crowd, a moment of resilience that instantly became an iconic demonstration of Trump’s strength. The shooting is already considered one of the most consequential intelligence failures in recent American history, and congressional Republicans have promised to investigate it to the fullest extent.

Tonight, Biden will address the nation again, this time from the Oval Office.