It was a moment that shocked America and reverberated around the globe.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump was delivering an address at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania when he was suddenly shot by a would-be assassin.
The bullet pierced the top of his right ear, missing his head by mere centimeters. A last-second turn of his head saved Trump’s life. Had his head been straight when the shot was fired, it would have meant near-certain death.
As Trump grabbed his ear and ducked down beneath the podium, Secret Service agents swarmed the former president and protected him. Blood could be seen on Trump’s right ear as the agents surrounded him and led him off the stage to a waiting vehicle to whisk him away.
An iconic photo captured a bloodied Trump with a raised fist being protected by Secret Service agents as the American flag waves above them.
A bystander, firefighter Corey Comperatore, was tragically killed instantly after being hit in the head by one of the assassin’s bullets during the attempted assassination of Trump.
Authorities have identified the gunman in Saturday’s attack as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, who was killed by Secret Service agents at the scene after the shooting. Crooks was in possession of an AR-15 style rifle. The FBI is currently investigating the attack.
This is the most serious attempt to take the life of a president since the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan which ended in the severe wounding of his press aide Jim Brady.
No less than four U.S. presidents were assassinated – Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy – and quite a few others survived assassination attempts, including Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Ronald Reagan, among others.
This was an inexcusable act of political violence and is the end-result of the political temperature currently spreading across the United States. Republicans accuse Democrats of inciting the public to violence, claiming violent campaign rhetoric against Trump is one of the main causes that led to this tragic event.
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers are already demanding answers from the agency on the security posture and hearings on the incident.
House Speaker Mike Johnson vowed a “full investigation” of the shooting, featuring testimony from USSS, DHS and the FBI, and two Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security Committee have also called for an investigation.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, also said that Congress had “oversight scrutiny and responsibility,” and said there was a “failure of the overall broader net.”
Secret Service – along with local law enforcement in Pennsylvania who assisted in securing the rally venue, as well as sources close to Trump’s campaign – is denying rumors circulating on social media that the agency had denied requests from Trump’s team for more security,
In a statement, the Secret Service said the detail had been increased recently.
“There’s an untrue assertion that a member of the former President’s team requested additional security resources and that those were rebuffed,” said Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. “This is absolutely false. In fact, we added protective resources & technology & capabilities as part of the increased campaign travel tempo.”
The FBI also pushed back on the implication on Saturday night.
“There was no additional request for security that was ever denied by the FBI,” Kevin Rojek, the FBI special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh office said during a news conference.
President Biden on Sunday said he had a good talk with former President Trump and that he has directed an independent review of security at the Pennsylvania rally where the shooting took place.
“I’ve directed an independent review of the national security at yesterday’s rally to assess exactly what happened and we’ll share the results of that independent review to the American people, as well,” he said.
Additionally, Biden said he asked the Secret Service to provide Trump with every resource and security measures to ensure his safety and directed the head of Secret Service to review all security measures for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week.
By surviving this assassination attempt and taking a moment to reassure the crowd, Trump once again proved to his supporters how indefatigable he is. His supporters now see him as invincible after he emerged unscathed from numerous attempts to prevent him from running for a second term as president, including the Mueller Report and his recent conviction.
Trump has announced he is feeling fine and will attend the Republican convention in Milwaukee on Sunday where he will address the crowd.