Joe Biden gave brief live remarks after Donald Trump was rushed off the stageat his Pennsylvania rally on Saturday, July 13, after loud bangs were heard.
Speaking from his Delaware home, Biden, 81 — whom CNN reported was in church when he was told of the shooting — began, "I tried to get a hold of Donald. He’s with his doctors, apparently he’s doing well. I plan on talking to him shortly."
Stating that "there's no place in America" for the "violence" that occurred at the rally, Biden continued, "It's sick. That's one of the reasons we have to unite this country. We cannot allow this to be happening. We cannot be like this, we cannot condone this."
"The bottom line is, the Trump rally is a rally that he should have been able to conduct peacefully without any problem. But the idea that there’s political violence, or violence in America like this, is just unheard of. It’s just not appropriate," he added. "Everybody must condemn it. Everybody."
Biden concluded his message by explaining that he hoped to speak with Trump, 78, when he could.
When asked if he thought it was an assassination attempt against Trump, Biden said, "I don’t know enough, I have an opinion but I don’t have any facts, so I want to make sure we have all the facts before I make a comment."
Trump was in the middle of giving a speech when popping, gunshot-like sounds could be heard at the weekend rally.
Foot -
age captured andshared on social mediashowed the former president turning toward the noise and briefly grabbing his ear before Secret Service agents rushed the stage and surrounded him.
Trump was then rushed off the stage as what appeared to be blood was seen running down the side of his face. Before leaving, Trump told his Secret Service agents, "Wait, wait," and stood and raised his fist in a defiant gesture, yelling "Fight! Fight!"
In the footage, Secret Service agents could be heard saying, "The shooter is down."
In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, the Trump campaign said, "President Trump thanks law enforcement and first responders for their quick action during this heinous act."
"He is fine and is being checked out at a local medical facility. More details will follow," the statement concluded.
Biden said in a statement before his Saturday evening press conference that he had been briefed on the shooting. "I’m grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well," he said, referring to Trump.
"I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information," the politician continued.
"Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety. There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it," Biden added,
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