Washington — President Biden spoke Sunday about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, saying he is directing an independent review of the security and events at the Pennsylvania rally to determine what went wrong. The president said he will speak to the nation further from the Oval Office Sunday night.
One spectator was killed at the rally and two were critically wounded. Trump was injured with a graze wound to his ear. Mr. Biden said he wants to ensure Trump gets the security he needs.
“Last night, I spoke with Donald Trump,” the president said in his Sunday afternoon remarks. “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 that was killed.”
The president also spoke briefly Saturday night in Delaware after Trump, with blood visible on his face, was whisked off stage at a Pennsylvania rally when a gunman’s bullet grazed his ear. The president, who has been updated regularly by top administration officials, received another briefing in the White House Situation Room on Sunday.
“We don’t yet have any information about the motive of the shooter, we know who he is,” the president said Sunday, without naming the suspect, who was identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. Crooks was killed by a Secret Service sniper after opening fire.
“We must unite as one nation,” Mr. Biden said.
In remarks Saturday night, Mr. Biden said that “there’s no place in America for this kind of violence,” calling it “sick.”
“That’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country,” the president said. “You cannot allow for this to be happening. We cannot be like this.”
At the time, Mr. Biden made clear that although he had been briefed, the situation was still unfolding, and he wanted “to make sure we have all the facts” before commenting further.
The president and former president spoke by phone on Saturday, a Trump adviser and White House official confirmed. A White House official characterized the call as “good, short, and respectful,” pointing to a description from the Trump campaign.
Mr. Biden cut his weekend in Delaware short to travel back to the White House late Saturday in the wake of the assassination attempt.
