California leaders condemned the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
“Violence has no place in our democracy,” governor Gavin Newsom tweeted. “My thoughts are with President Trump and everyone affected by today’s rally.”
While speaking at a rally outside Pittsburgh, Trump grabbed the side of his head and went down after a loud bang that sounded like a gunshot. Secret Service agents rushed around Trump, who appeared to be bleeding from an ear as he pumped his fists in the air and rushed off the stage.
In a statement, the Secret Service said the shooter fired from “an elevated position outside the rally venue,” before being killed by agents. One bystander was killed and two were “critically wounded” in the shooting, the statement said.
In his own statement, Trump said he was “shot with a bullet that went through the top of his right ear.”
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is helped off the stage at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., Saturday, July 13, 2024.
(Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press)
Trump also thanked the Secret Service, and expressed his condolences to the rally participants who were killed and injured.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) wrote on social media platform X that such violence “has no place in our society.”
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is masked by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa.
(Evan Vucci/Associated Press)
“As a family member who has been a victim of political violence, I know firsthand that political violence has no place in our society. I thank God that former President Trump is safe,” Pelosi wrote.
Her husband was attacked in their home in San Francisco in 2022. Pelosi wrote that she hoped the meeting participants were safe.
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris also condemned the violence.
“Ache. It hurts,” Biden said of the shooting during a news briefing.
President Joe Biden said Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Rehoboth Beach, Del., that shots were fired at a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Pennsylvania.
(Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press)
Harris said she and her husband Doug Emhoff were “relieved” that Trump was not seriously injured.
“We pray for him, his family, and everyone who was hurt and affected by this senseless shooting,” Harris said. “We are grateful to the United States Secret Service, first responders, and local authorities for their immediate action.
“This kind of violence has no place in our country. We must all condemn this despicable act and do our part to ensure that it does not lead to more violence.
Senator Alex Padilla wrote “there is no place in our democracy for political violence,” and he “keeps the former President and the people who participated in the rally in my thoughts.”
“Thank you for the quick action of law enforcement to protect those who attended,” he wrote.
Sen. Laphonza Butler, appointed by Newsom to serve out the remainder of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, wrote that her “thoughts and prayers are with former President Trump and his family as well as all Americans present at the rally. We must not allow political violence to be accepted in our democracy.
People embrace after Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is helped off the stage at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., Saturday, July 13, 2024.
(Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press)
Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), who is running to fill Butler’s seat as California’s next U.S. senator, also issued a statement.
“Outraged by this apparent assassination attempt,” Schiff wrote.
“There is no place for political violence in our democracy. Absolutely not,” he wrote. “Thank you for the quick response by law enforcement and the Secret Service. We wish President Trump a speedy recovery.
Schiff’s Republican opponent in the Senate race, former star Dodgers first baseman Steve Garvey, wrote in X that “my thoughts and prayers are with President Trump for his speedy recovery and with the families of innocent rally supporters who were tragically affected.”
He also praised the “courage of Secret Service members who bravely protected the former president and everyone involved.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report
