Trump says he was shot in the ear at rally in incident investigated as assassination attempt: Live updates

A freshman Republican has accused PresidentJoe Biden of ordering the shooting at a rally in Pennsylvaniathat left Donald Trump injured.

The former president was rushed from the stage soon after he began to speak on Saturday, with blood running down his face, by his Secret Service detail who bundled him into a waiting motorcade. Trump’s campaign said that is he “fine” and being “checked out a local medical facility.”

Secret Service agents killed the suspected shooter, who was outside the rally when the shots were fired, according to law enforcement officials.

Donald Trump described in graphic detail the moment he said he was shot through the ear in his first comments following an attempt on his life at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,” the former president said in a post on Truth Social.

“Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening,” he added.

Trump thanked the Secret Service and law enforcement for their response to the shooting and paid condolences to the family of a rally-goer who was reported killed in the attack.

“Thank you for your love and prayers for my father and for the other victims of today’s senseless violence in Butler, Pennsylvania. I am grateful to the Secret Service and all the other law enforcement officers for their quick and decisive actions today. I continue to pray for our country,” Ivanka wrote on Truth Social. “I love you Dad, today and always.”

A post on Donald Trump’s Truth Social account says that he “was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.”

“I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,” he added.

“I want to thank The United States Secret Service, and all of Law Enforcement, for their rapid response on the shooting that just took place in Butler, Pennsylvania. Most importantly, I want to extend my condolences to the family of the person at the Rally who was killed, and also to the family of another person that was badly injured,” the post reads.

“It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country. Nothing is known at this time about the shooter, who is now dead. I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”

Vice President Kamala Harris has been briefed at the shooting at Trump’s rally, she said in a statement.

“Doug and I are relieved that he is not seriously injured,” she added. “We are praying for him, his family, and all those who have been injured and impacted by this senseless shooting. We are grateful to the United States Secret Service, first responders, and local authorities for their immediate action.”

She said that “violence such as this has no place in our nation” and that “we must all condemn this abhorrent act and do our part to ensure that it does not lead to more violence.”

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office prosecuted Trump before a jury in New York City found him guilty of 34 felonies in May, said in a statement that “political violence in any form is abhorrent and unacceptable.”

“I commend the Secret Service on their swift response and my thoughts and prayers are with former President Trump and his family,” he added.

Meanwhile, Republican Senator Mike Lee, among GOP members of Congress who have condemned the criminal investigations into the former president, has called on President Joe Biden to “immediately order that all federal criminal charges against President Trump be dropped, and to ask the governors of New York and Georgia to do the same.”

President Joe Biden spoke briefly from a police station in Delaware noting that he has been “thoroughly briefed by all the agencies in the federal government” following today’s shooting in Pennsylvania.

“I have tried to get a hold of Donald. He’s with his doctors. Apparently he’s doing well. I plan on talking to them shortly. I hope when I get back to the telephone,” he said.

“Look, there’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country. We cannot allow for this to be happening,” he added.

“We cannot be like this. We cannot condone this. And so I want to thank the Secret Service and all the agencies, including the state agencies, that have engaged in making sure that the people who and we have more detail to come relative to other injury, other people may be injured in the audience.”

The president said he intends to come back later tonight with more information.

“ If we don’t, if I’m not able to give, it’s not a convenient for you all. But the bottom line is that the Trump rally was a rally that he should have been able to be conducted peacefully, without any problem,” he said.

“But the idea, the idea that there’s political violence or violence in America like this is just unheard of. It’s just not appropriate,” he said. “And we, everybody, everybody must condemn it. Everybody.”

“We are shocked by the scenes at President Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania. We condemn all forms of political violence in the strongest terms and we send our best wishes to President Trump and his family at this time,” a statement from Downing Street read.