WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeland security and law enforcement officials were briefing the president Joe Biden on Sunday about the apparent assassination attempt on his predecessor, donald trumpwhile the White House continued to call for national unity and condemn the stunning act of violence.
Vice President Kamala Harris was joining Biden for an update from lead investigators.
Biden quickly denounced the shooting and spoke to Trump on Saturday night. His campaign team, meanwhile, is grappling with how to manage the political implications of an attack on the man Biden hopes to defeat in the November election.
Trump himself called for national unity and resilience, and aides said he was “very cheerful and well” after being injured during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. He is moving forward with plans to attend this week’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where criticism of Biden and Democrats is sure to be scathing.
Moments after the shooting, Biden’s reelection campaign said it was suspending “all outside communications and working to remove our television ads as quickly as possible.” It was unclear how long the suspension would last.
Harris postponed a planned campaign trip to Florida on Tuesday where she was to meet Republican women voters due to Saturday’s shooting, according to a campaign official.
Investigators are still in the early stages of determining what occurred and why. But some Biden critics criticize the president for telling donors in a private call on July 8 that “it’s time to put Trump on target.”
A person familiar with those remarks said Sunday that the president was trying to make clear that Trump had gotten away with a light public agenda after last month’s debate, while the president himself faced intense scrutiny from many, even within his own party, for his poor performance in the match.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations more freely.
On the donor call, Biden said: “I have one job and it is to beat Donald Trump… I am absolutely certain that I am the best person to be able to do that.”
He continued: “So we’re done talking about the debate. It’s time to put Trump on target. He hasn’t done anything in the last 10 days except ride around in his golf cart, bragging about scores he didn’t score… Anyway, I’m not going to get into his golf game.
In his initial response to the shooting on Saturday night, Biden condemned the attempt on Trump’s life. The White House said the two men spoke Saturday night but did not release details.
“Look, there is no place in America for this kind of violence,” Biden said Saturday night, before rushing back to the White House from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where he spent the weekend. “It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons we have to unite this country. We can’t allow this to happen. We can’t be like this. We can’t tolerate this.”
