My Opinion and Questions 

How did the bullet “graze” Trump’s ear, and was it really a bullet?

The presumed gunman Thomas Matthes Crooks was located on the roof to the right side of Trump, and the bullet shot from this direction, which “grazed” the upper tip of his right ear, would inevitably hit the right side of his skull, and this did not happen. It looks like, from Trump’s reaction, that his ear was possibly hit from behind him, and it was something smaller than a regular bullet. Hypothetically and theoretically, the attack with mini-drone, the size of the insect, is possible, as one of the explanations. 

I would also be interested in the identities of people standing on the podium right behind Trump. 

Trump touched the injured ear with his right hand, and when the palm of his hand showed on video, there was no blood on it, immediately after the injury. 

All in all, it is nothing short of miracle that this presumed bullet “grazed” his ear but did not cause any  other damage. 

The medical forensic expertise of the Trump’s wound after the assassination attempt is needed, with the specific question, if it is consistent with bullet injury. 

However, one of the attendees was killed, and two were seriously injured. The locations of these persons and the nature of their injuries should be analyzed forensically vizavi the location of the presumed gunman Crooks, in their ballistic aspects. Were the shots fired by one or more than one person? 

These questions and doubts are supplemented by the set of very clear and sardonic Telling Names: “Trump was shot at Butler Farm Show, Pa; by Crooks”. 

My opinion is that there are observable similarities between this Trump incident and the cases of mass shootings, with regard to the questions about the numbers of the actual shooters and their true identities. It is possible that the authors of these “shows”are the same: Putin and his circle, and that they took some care to avoid the risk to Trump’s life while maximizing its impact on the inciting the Civil War and bringing other similar calamities upon America. 

The additional, facetious side benefit for them, the Putin’s circle,  would be to confuse and to fool the FBI and the public by introducing the explanations which have very questionable relations with the common sense. 

Michael Novakhov | 7.14.24 

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Links

The ballistic aspects of the Trump assassination attempt of 7.13.24 – GS 

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Reasonable observation https://t.co/CTqeS7L6lO
The distance between President #Trump and the shooter on a rooftop was 137 meters.
It is literally impossible that both the SS and the #FBI did not know exactly where the shooter was, as demonstrated by the videos shared on social… https://t.co/Bc8oSqSqxf pic.twitter.com/glyLoJVQ0W

— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) July 14, 2024

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This image shows the location of the shooting site, about 400 feet from the stage, at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.GOOGLE EARTH/CBS NEWS

A GoFundMe page for donations to the supporters and families wounded or killed at the rally in Pennsylvania, authorized by former President Donald Trump, has raised more than $170,000.

The page, organized by the Trump campaign’s national finance direct Meredith O’Rourke, has already attracted more than 2,000 donations since it was set up last night.

“President Donald Trump has authorized this account as a place for donations to the supporters and families wounded or killed in today’s brutal and horrific assassination attempt,” the description on the page reads.

“All donations will be directed to these proud Americans as they grieve and recover. May God bless and unite our nation.”

For two weeks, tumult enveloped the Democratic Party. Suddenly, it’s all at a standstill. 

Numerous Democrats said Saturday the assassination attempt at former President Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania would put a halt to any efforts to replace President Joe Biden. At least for now.

“I think it’s over,” a Biden ally said. “You just lose all momentum.”

Read the full story here

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called for a stand against violence that “challenges democracy” on Sunday as he prayed for Donald Trump’s recovery.

In July 2022, Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe died in hospital after he was shot at a political campaign event.

“We must stand firm against any form of violence that challenges democracy,” he posted on X. “I pray for former President Trump’s speedy recovery.”

French President Emmanuel Macron called the assassination attempt a “tragedy for our democracies” on Sunday, as he wished Donald Trump a “speedy recovery.”

“My thoughts are with President Donald Trump, the victim of an assassination attempt,” he posted on X.

“I send him my wishes for a speedy recovery. A spectator has died, several are injured. It is a tragedy for our democracies. France shares the shock and indignation of the American people.”

New video shows Trump walking down the steps of his plane unassisted at an airport in Newark, New Jersey, following what’s being investigated as an assassination attempt.

Law enforcement authorities have identified the man who made an assassination attempt on Trump.

He is Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, according to the FBI.

A motive remains under investigation.

Read the full story here.

Photos of the body of a possible shooter on a roof near the Trump rally appear to show the person wearing merchandise promoting one of YouTube’s most popular channels devoted to firearms.

The photos, verified by NBC News, show a person lying on a roof bleeding from the head, surrounded by law enforcement officers. The bleeding person is wearing a gray T-shirt with an American flag on the sleeve with block lettering that is partly obscured.

The appearance and lettering of the shirt match the appearance of a shirt that is still for sale on the website for the firearms YouTube channel Demolition Ranch.

After the photos and speculation began to circulate online Saturday evening, Demolition Ranch and its founder posted to social media, sharing the photos and writing, “What the hell.”

Demolition Ranch has over 11 million subscribers on YouTube, where the channel frequently posts videos about various types of firearms. It is part of a large network of YouTube channels devoted to celebrating and testing out guns.

The YouTube channel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An FBI official said it’s “surprising” someone could find a location to fire shots against Trump.

FBI Special Agent Kevin Rojek, who runs the Pittsburgh office, pleaded for patience, saying answered questions are “really days, weeks and months of investigation” away from being answered.

Pressed about how a shooter could have reached a rooftop spot, Rojek said: “It is surprising, but again to get all the details of that will come out later in the investigation.”

The building top from where a man opened fire on Trump might not have been secured before the rally.

Asked whether the location — about 148 yards from where Trump was speaking — was secured, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said: “It’s my understanding that it was outside the perimeter.”

Bivens emphasized that the Secret Service had a difficult challenge to lock down the entire rally location against any possible threat.

“It is incredibly difficult to have a venue open to the public and to secure that against any possible threat against a very determined attacker,” Bivens told reporters. “That’s a huge lift to try to do.”

The FBI formally called today’s attack on Trump an assassination attempt and said a motive wasn’t immediately apparent.

“This evening we had what we’re calling an assassination attempt on our former president, Donald Trump,” Kevin Rojek, the FBI special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh field office, told reporters. “We do not currently have an identified motive.”

Rojek said authorities weren’t immediately ready to identify the shooter. Officials said that he had no identification on him and that investigators are using biometrics to try to confirm his identity.

Federal investigators have tentatively identified the man who shot at Trump today in Pennsylvania: He is about 20 and is from Pennsylvania, according to five senior U.S. law enforcement officials briefed on the matter.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said on X that Trump left the Butler area “under the protection of US Secret Service and with the assistance of the Pennsylvania State Police.”

“Lori and I are thankful that his team reports that he is fine and we continue to wish him a full and speedy recovery,” he added.

House Oversight Commitee Chairman James Comer has formally asked Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear for a hearing on July 22, according to a letter the committee posted to X.

“The tremendous bravery of the individual United States Secret Service agents who protected President Trump, eliminated the gunman, and possibly averted more loss of life cannot be overstated,” Comer, R-Ky., wrote in a letter to Cheatle.

The committee requested Cheatle’s “voluntary appearance” as part of its investigation.

A video appears to show the body of a possible shooter on the roof of a building near where people were gathered for Trump’s rally.

Four sources told NBC News’ Tom Winter that the video was confirmed as being from the scene of the shooting. Multiple law enforcement officials told NBC News that the person believed to be the shooter was male and is dead.

The supposed shooter’s identity has not yet been confirmed.

Concerns about the rising prevalence of violent threats and a growing list of violent attacks on politicians were punctuated on Saturday when a gunman killed at least one person in an assassination attempt on Trump.

The shooting immediately sparked concerns that the already-heated election cycle would lead to more violence.

Read the full story here.

A Trump supporter in Milwaukee ahead of next week’s Republican National Convention demanded that Americans “get hate out of our vocabulary” but predicted the shooting wouldn’t deter Trump’s candidacy.

“Love the ones who vote differently than you,” Kentucky voter Angie Prowell told NBC News outside Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, where the GOP convention will be held. “We’ve got to get hate out of our vocabulary, out of our everyday way of life.”

Despite the mayhem of Saturday’s violence, Prowell said she’s as confident as ever in Trump’s campaign.

“That man will rise up stronger,” said Prowell. “They missed. Unfortunately, they hit someone else. So he will be fine. He will be strong. Security will have to be stronger, but … they missed.”

Trump was injured, a spectator was killed and two others were critically injured when someone opened fire at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania, authorities said.

Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social, that he was shot in his right ear.

Biden said the nation must unite in condemning such political violence. He said every pertinent federal agency was being scrambled to respond and investigate.

The shooting started shortly after Trump took his position at the podium onstage.

Read the full story here.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the House will investigate the shooting at Trump’s rally, which Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., earlier said his committee would do.

Biden spoke with Trump, a White House official said.

The president also spoke with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Butler Mayor Bob Dandoy, the official added. 

Biden is scheduled to return to Washington tonight and he is expected to get an updated briefing from the Department of Homeland Security and law enforcement officials tomorrow.

Rico Elmore, who spoke at the rally earlier, said he tried to help the rallygoer who was shot and killed.

Elmore said that after he realized no medical personnel were in the immediate area, he ran up the bleachers to help. 

“I jumped over the barricades. I ran up into the bleachers, and there was a towel that people had. I took the towel and I pushed it against the deceased’s head,” Elmore said, “but my efforts were in vain.”

Elmore said his heart goes out to the families of those killed and injured.

“You have the freedom of speech; you have the freedom to assemble. You have the freedom — you can go protest the fact that President Trump was there. OK, that’s fine, but to try to kill, to shoot into a crowd of thousands of people, I can’t fathom that,” he said.

Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, who served as White House physician under Trump, said on Fox News that his nephew was at the rally today and was grazed by a bullet.

“He was grazed in the neck. A bullet crossed his neck — cut his neck and he was bleeding,” he said.

Jackson said that he’d set his nephew up with access to the rally and that he was in the “friends and family” pen when he “heard the shots and everybody dropped to the ground.”

The FBI said in a statement it “has assumed the role of the lead federal law enforcement agency” investigating today’s shooting.

“Special agents of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office responded immediately,” the bureau said, and the FBI “will continue to support this investigation with the full resources of the FBI,” working alongside the Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies.

“Anyone with information that may assist with the investigation is asked to call our tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI,” the bureau said.

Biden will leave Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, tonight to go back to the White House.

A witness told the BBC he saw a man with a rifle crawling up a roof while Trump was speaking and tried to alert law enforcement.

The witness, who gave his name only as Greg, said he was listening to the speech outside the rally site when he saw a man “bear crawling” up the roof of a building about 50 feet away with a rifle.

“We’re pointing at him. The police are down there, running around on the ground. We’re like ‘Hey man, there’s a guy on the roof with a rifle,’” the witness said. The police “did not know what was going on,” he added.

“I’m thinking to myself why is Trump still speaking? Why have they not pulled him off the stage?” he said. “Next thing you know five shots rang out.”

NBC News has not independently confirmed the details he provided to the BBC. 

He said the gunman was on the roof for 3 to 4 minutes and that police might have had a hard time seeing him because of the slope of the roof. He said the Secret Service later went up on the roof, after the shooter had apparently already been shot.

Early social media posts misidentified the gunman responsible for today’s shooting, falsely blaming a “prominent Antifa activist,” Mark Violets.

The shooter had not been named as of 10 p.m. ET, and the motivation remains unknown.

After shootings that make national headlines — whether for jokes, to fool media or to game social media algorithms for engagement and followers — anonymous social media accounts often fill the vacuum of information with posts that misidentify the culprits.

In posts to X, Telegram and niche online spaces, users claimed that the identification had come from the Butler Police Department. The posts included a photo of a man in sunglasses and a black hat, alleging it was a screenshot from a video posted to YouTube before the attack in which the man claimed “justice was coming.” That was all false.

Trump senior adviser Chris LaCivita, who was with him at tonight’s rally, condemned “disgusting” remarks and “descriptions” of shooting Trump that he said had been happening “for years.”

LaCivita called for leftist activists, Democratic donors and Biden to be held accountable “through the ballot box.”

LaCivita did not provide any examples. Biden, who quickly condemned the shooting, said on a call Monday with donors that “it’s time to put Trump in the bullseye,” according to excerpts provided by Biden’s campaign.

BUTLER, Pa. — One of the scores of people who attended Trump’s campaign rally today said she was sitting in the front row — directly in front of Trump — when gunshots rang out.

Erin, who did not provide her last name, said she heard four popping noises a few minutes after the rally got underway. She watched the shocking scene that unfolded: Secret Service personnel rushing the stage, Trump with blood on an ear.

“No one was concerned about us. We were only concerned about him,” Erin said, referring to Trump.

Erin said she saw someone else covered in blood, who appeared to be next to a person who was “bleeding profusely” — seemingly struck by one of the gunman’s bullets.

Read the full story here.

Trump campaign and Republican National Committee officials said in a joint statement that Trump will attend the convention in Milwaukee as “we proceed with our convention to nominate him to serve as the 47th President of the United States.” The statement said Trump is “doing well” and “grateful” to law enforcement and first responders.

Trump offered a restrained response after the apparent attempt on his life, telling supporters in a Truth Social post: “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.”

But some of his Republican allies were less restrained in pointing fingers in the immediate aftermath — including Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who blamed “Democrats and liberals in the media” for their rhetoric about Trump, and Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., who accused Biden of “inciting an assassination.”

(Biden said there’s “no place for this kind of violence in America” and called on Americans to “unite as one nation to condemn it.”)

It was a notable rhetorical contrast between Trump — who avoided issuing political blame as he said he was “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear” — and his more aggressive allies as the shock of the incident spread through the country.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said he has been briefed and that he briefed Biden on the shooting. “The FBI, ATF, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and the Department’s National Security Division are currently working with the Secret Service as well as state and local law enforcement partners on the ground in Butler, Pennsylvania,” he said.

Political violence is “an attack on democracy,” Garland continued, adding that his heart is with Trump and the family of the person killed.

Garland is one of several Cabinet members to have released statements in the last hour. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also released statements condemning political violence and expressing gratitude that Trump is safe.

Mayorkas said that DHS, too, is working with law enforcement to investigate the shooting.

The suspected shooter at the Trump rally is a male, according to four senior U.S. law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation.

Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., said “something is wrong in America right now” as he described being at the rally with his young grandchildren.

In an on-air interview, Kelly said he attended the rally with 10 of his grandchildren, ages 4 to 12.

Kelly said the rally started as a “beautiful summer day” where people were celebrating and grilling food. The aftermath was “just shaking you,” he said.

“I’m really concerned as we go forward that there’s something wrong in America right now,” Kelly said.

Kelly recalled seeing rallygoers about 10 rows up with blood on their shirts and a man being carried out of the stands. Kelly said he later learned the man had died.

Biden learned of the shooting after he came out of a Catholic Mass in Delaware, said a source familiar with the matter. Biden wanted to address the nation “as soon as he was fully briefed,” the person said.

BUTLER, Pa. — A man who was at Trump’s rally today described the moment he saw another attendee drop to the ground, dead, after having been shot in the head.

The witness, identified only by his first name, Joseph, said he was sitting in a set of bleachers at the far left of the podium when he heard “several gunshots” ring out. He said he saw a man a couple of yards away fall to the bottom of the bleachers after he was being shot in the head.

He said that it seemed like the shots were coming from behind the bleachers and that the man was hit from behind, in the back of the head. Joseph said he helped officials carry the man off the bleachers to a tent nearby.

“The way politics goes in this country, it just seems like it’s very polarized,” he said. “Everyone’s just very angry. I’m honestly shocked this didn’t happen earlier.”

Read the full story here.

Republican lawmakers are seizing on legislation Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., introduced more than two months ago that would strip Trump of his Secret Service protection if he were sentenced to prison in his New York case or other cases.

Thompson, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee and former chairman of the select committee that investigated Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 attack, introduced the bill in April. It would terminate Secret Service protection for anyone convicted of a federal or state felony, which includes Trump, who was found guilty on 34 felony counts in a hush money trial in New York in May.

Thompson said today that he’s “grateful for law enforcement’s fast response” to the shooting and that “there is no room in American democracy for political violence.”

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., a Trump ally, replied to the post from Thompson on X: “Rich coming from the Representative who sponsored this legislation,” he said, referring to Thompson’s bill.

Some Republican politicians and media personalities have begun to point fingers for today’s shooting, assigning blame to Biden and Democrats.

Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, part of Trump’s shortlist for a vice presidential running mate, tweeted that he believed the Biden campaign’s rhetoric directly contributed to a shooting attempt.

“The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination,” he wrote on X.

Republican Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia squarely blamed Biden, writing “Joe Biden sent the orders” on X, sharing a quote Biden reportedly made during a call with donors Monday. According to Politico, which reported that it had obtained a recording of the call, Biden said: “I have one job, and that’s to beat Donald Trump. I’m absolutely certain I’m the best person to be able to do that. So, we’re done talking about the debate, it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye.”

Dozens of law enforcement officers from the Pittsburgh police and the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office closed the block surrounding Allegheny General Hospital shortly after a helicopter arrived around 8 p.m., landing on the roof. A second helicopter landed shortly before 8:30 p.m., and a third arrived before 9 p.m.

A small crowd has started to gather across the street from the hospital.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., a close Trump ally, issued a statement saying he’s asked the Secret Service for a briefing on the shooting and also plans to hold a hearing on “the assassination attempt” as well.

“Political violence in all forms is unamerican and unacceptable,” Comer said. “There are many questions and Americans demand answers. I have already contacted the Secret Service for a briefing and am also calling on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear for a hearing. The Oversight Committee will send a formal invitation soon.”

There is no sign at the moment that the shooting at the Trump rally had any link to a foreign actor, according to a U.S. official.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., whom Trump has mentioned as a potential running mate, said in a post on X that the shooting was “an assassination attempt.”

He claimed that it was “aided and abetted by the radical Left and corporate media incessantly calling Trump a threat to democracy, fascists, or worse.”

Ivanka Trump thanked the public “for your love and prayers for my father” in a post on social media and wrote, “I continue to pray for our country.”

She included a message for her father in the post on X.

“I love you Dad, today and always,” she wrote.

Former President Trump narrowly avoided being shot by turning his head “right in the nick of time,” a witness said.

Vanessa Asher said she was six rows away from the podium facing Trump during the rally. Asher said Trump was gesturing with each of his hands to charts that were being projected onto screens facing the audience.

She said Trump turned his head to look at one of the charts “right in the nick of time,” and had he not done so, she believes the bullet would have hit his head.

Asher said she initially thought firecrackers were going off, and recalled hearing six “pops.” When she noticed Trump had gone down, Asher realized that rallygoers were all in a situation where they could get hurt, and she was thinking she needed to get down and stay down.

The suspected shooter fired “multiple shots toward the stage” at Trump’s rally “from an elevated position outside of the rally venue,” Secret Service chief of communications Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement.

“US Secret Service personnel neutralized the shooter, who is now deceased. US Secret Service quickly responded with protective measures and the former president is safe and being evaluated,” the statement said.

“One spectator was killed, two were critically injured,” it added.

The FBI says the agency is on the scene in Butler, Pennsylvania, and working with the U.S. Secret Service and the district attorney’s office as the investigation continues.

Trump just said in a lengthy message on his Truth Social account that he was shot by a bullet that pierced the upper part of his right ear.

“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!” he wrote.

Trump said he wants to thank the Secret Service and all law enforcement for their rapid response, and he said, “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.”

“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,” he wrote.

Shots were fired from outside the venue’s security perimeter established by the U.S. Secret Service, three senior law enforcement sources said.

The shooting took place from a position outside the venue and its security measures, the sources told NBC News.

The assertion could answer a question that quickly emerged following the violence — namely how a gunman got a firearm past security and its gun-detecting magnetometers. In this view, they apparently didn’t.

Vice President Kamala Harris said she and her husband Doug Emhoff were “relieved” that Trump is not seriously injured.

 “We are praying for him, his family, and all those who have been injured and impacted by this senseless shooting,” Harris said in a statement.

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

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri called for a thorough congressional investigation into the shooting at Trump’s rally, referring to it as “an assassination attempt with at least one innocent bystander murdered.”

“It’s a wonder Donald Trump is alive,” Hawley posted on X.

“The nation needs to know who did this. And why,” he continued. “And we need a full, public investigation by Congress into HOW it happened.”

Robert Dandoy, the Democratic mayor of Butler, Pennsylvania, tells NBC News in a telephone interview that he is horrified by what happened and also stunned that anyone was able to get a weapon anywhere near the former president.

“That was the talk today, that people couldn’t even get an umbrella into that rally,” he said. “We all had the same first question: How did anyone get a weapon into that rally?”

Three senior U.S. law enforcement officials told NBC News that the shooting occurred outside the U.S. Secret Service security perimeter of the event.

Dandoy was not there but Butler’s chief of police was, he said. 

“This kind of violence is just unacceptable,” Dandoy said. “We can’t continue as a democratic society if people can’t exercise their free speech rights at a political gathering without fear of something like this happening. This can’t happen. It makes me sick.”

Former U.S. presidents were quick to speak out against the shooting at Trump’s rally, with George W. Bush tweeting that it was a “cowardly attack.”

“Laura and I are grateful that President Trump is safe following the cowardly attack on his life,” tweeted George W. Bush. “And we commend the men and women of the Secret Service for their speedy response.”

Former President Bill Clinton tweeted that “violence has no place in America, especially in our political process.”

In brief remarks from Rehoboth Beach, Biden said that he has been thoroughly briefed on the incident and he hopes to speak to Trump tonight.

“I tried to get ahold of Donald. He’s with his doctors,” Biden said. “I plan on talking to him, shortly, I hope.”

Biden said there’s “no place in America for this kind of violence.”

“It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons we have to unite this country,” he said. “We cannot condone this.”

Donald Trump Jr. said he’s spoken to his father and he’s in “great spirits.”

Trump Jr. said in a statement through his spokesman that he’d spoken to Trump on the phone. “He will never stop fighting to save America, no matter what the radical left throws at him,” Trump Jr. said.

His brother Eric Trump, meanwhile, tweeted a picture of his injured father pumping his fist in the air after the shooting. “This is the fighter America needs!” the post read.

President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign will pull its television advertising in the wake of today’s violence at Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania, a campaign official said.

“The Biden campaign is pausing all outbound communications and working to pull down our television ads as quickly as possible,” the official told NBC News.

In a statement released by the White House tonight, Biden said the nation must unite to decry such violence.

A doctor who was the rally said he saw one person dead.

The doctor, who identified himself as Joseph, said he was sitting in the bleachers at the far left of the podium when he heard shots ring out.

A couple of yards away, he said he saw a man — a fellow spectator — fall to the bottom of the bleachers after being shot in the back of the head. He said the man was facing the former president and appeared to be in the way of someone who was aiming and firing at Trump.

Joseph said the man was instantly killed, from what he could tell. Pennsylvania State Police and a SWAT team then began evacuating everyone, he said. Joseph said he helped officials carry the dead man and that officers placed a towel on the man’s head before carrying him away.

At first, Joseph said, he was in shock and that he knew the pops were gunshots but didn’t know where they were coming from. They were “very loud” and “very close,” he said.

Joseph said after the man was shot, he was able to piece together that it looked like the shots were coming from behind the bleachers.

He said others thought it was a joke at first and that it sounded like fireworks. It was “rather chaotic at that point,” Joseph said.

Another woman nearby appeared to have been shot in the forearm or in the hand, he said, adding that he counted seven shots and the injured woman was hit within those first seven shots.

President Joe Biden issued a formal statement on the incident at the former president’s rally in Pennsylvania today.

“There’s no place for this kind of violence in America,” Biden said. “We must unite as one nation to condemn it.”

Biden said he’s been briefed on what took place, but he did not add to the narrative, except to say, “I’m grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well.”

He added, “I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information.”

Biden said he and the first lady are grateful that the U.S. Secret Service was able to get Trump to safety.

Biden is about to speak from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Trump’s campaign is in a “complete communications lockdown,” according to a message sent to staff by James Blair, the political director for the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee. 

“Everything is OK,” Blair wrote. “We have no details to share at this time but will follow up soon with more information.” 

“Anyone who speaks with the press, even on background or off the record, will be found and terminated immediately,” Blair wrote, according to two people who received the message and shared it with NBC News. “Refrain from commenting, speculating, posting on social media, etc. Complete and total lockdown.”

Blair went on to say to all staff, “your personal safety is of the utmost importance. Please exercise extreme caution during this time.”

“Pray, remain vigilant, and be strong,” he concluded. “We WILL Make America Great Again.”

Conspiracy theories, unverified claims and misleading social media posts have racked up millions of views on X in the immediate aftermath.

One of the most quickly emerging, and so far unsupported, narratives to come out of the incident is that the incident was staged. On X, the word “staged” became the second-highest trending topic immediately after “Trump,” with over 228,000 posts on the platform using the term. In just an hour, numerous posts on X claiming the apparent shooting was staged were viewed several millions of times. There is no evidence to support any claims that the shooting was staged.

Associated phrases like “BB gun” also made it into X’s trending tab, with some people claiming without evidence that the weapon used in the incident was a BB gun or a weaker class of firearm.

Major accounts on X also quickly began circulating the photo of an Italian soccer commentator, claiming that he was the shooter and part of Antifa. There is no reporting or statement from law enforcement supporting the claim at this time.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry, a Democrat, said she’s in touch with law enforcement partners and will work cooperatively with them.

“I am deeply disturbed by this act of violence that has absolutely no place in the Commonwealth or anywhere,” she said. My regards are with the families who will be forever impacted by this heinous act. 

“I am hopeful for a speedy recovery for former President Trump,” she added.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement on X, “As one whose family has been the victim of political violence, I know firsthand that political violence of any kind has no place in our society. I thank God that former President Trump is safe.”

Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, was attacked in their San Francisco home with a hammer in 2022, an incident Trump has mocked.

Former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords, a Democrat who was shot in a mass shooting in 2011, also wished Trump well.

“Political violence is terrifying. I know,” Giffords, now a gun safety advocate, said in a statement. “I’m holding former president Trump, and all those affected by today’s indefensible act of violence in my heart. Political violence is un-American and is never acceptable — never.”

Earlier today, hours before Trump’s rally, Biden tweeted about his support for gun control, noting Trump’s opposition.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., decried Democrats’ campaign-season rhetoric warning that a second Trump term would curb democracy, saying it fuels political violence.

“For weeks Democrat leaders have been fueling ludicrous hysteria that Donald Trump winning re-election would be the end of democracy in America,” the congressman said on social media platform X after the incident at Trump’s rally.

“Clearly we’ve seen far left lunatics act on violent rhetoric in the past,” he said.

Scalise was one of four people wounded when a gunman opened fire on members of the Republican congressional baseball team practicing in Alexandria, Virginia, in June 2017.

NBC News’ Dasha Burns spoke to a witness at the scene in Butler who said she was in the front row, directly in front of Trump, when shots appeared to ring out.

The woman, who identified herself only as Erin, said she heard four pops three to four minutes into the rally. Secret Service immediately jumped on the stage, she recalled.

When Trump got up, she said she saw blood on Trump’s ear. “No one was concerned about us. We were only concerned about him,” Erin said, referring to Trump.

She also said she saw someone covered in blood who appeared to be next to someone who was “bleeding profusely” and had seemingly been shot.

Erin said a man sitting next to her in the crowd said he saw a shooter on a nearby water tower.

“If you don’t like the guy, don’t vote for him,” she said, again referring to the former president. “Don’t kill him. … What’s with the violence?”

Former President Barack Obama said in a statement that there’s no place for political violence in the U.S. and everyone should be relieved that Trump is reported to be OK.

“There is absolutely no place for political violence in our democracy. Although we don’t yet know exactly what happened, we should all be relieved that former President Trump wasn’t seriously hurt, and use this moment to recommit ourselves to civility and respect in our politics,” Obama said. “Michelle and I are wishing him a quick recovery.”

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, said his “thoughts are with President Trump and all of the folks attending today’s rally in Pennsylvania,” and he and his staff are in touch with the RNC about security at next week’s convention in Milwaukee.

“My staff and I are in contact with those coordinating security planning for the RNC and will continue to be in close communication as we learn more about this situation,” Evers said in a statement on X. “We cannot be a country that accepts political violence of any kind—that is not who we are as Americans.”

The shooter from the Trump rally is dead, Butler County’s district attorney says.

One spectator is also dead and another is in “serious condition,” the DA says.

Two witnesses told NBC News’ Dasha Burns that they saw two people down. The witnesses’ accounts are unconfirmed.

The witnesses, a mother and son, say this makes them hope Trump wins “more than ever” to “send a message to these people.”

“They can’t stop us,” one of the witnesses said.

Vice President Kamala Harris has received an initial briefing on the incident at Trump’s rally, the Office of the Vice President said.

Violent threats directed at public officials have been growing sharply in recent years, according to data from West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center.

“While 2013-2016 had an average of 38 federal charges per year, that number sharply increased to an average of 62 charges per year between 2017-2022,” according to a West Point report published in May. “Across the time series, ideologically motivated threats, on average, accounted for almost half of the cases, and the portion steadily increased year over year. A preliminary review of cases from 2023 and 2024 shows that the number of federal prosecutions is on pace to hit new record highs.”

Biden is getting an updated briefing from the following individuals, according to a White House official:

• Kimberly Cheatle, U.S. Secret Service director
• Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Department of Homeland Security 
• Liz Sherwood-Randall, assistant to the president and homeland security adviser 

The following staff participated in the briefing:

• Jeff Zients, assistant to the president and chief of staff
• Steve Ricchetti, assistant to the president and counselor to the president
• Annie Tomasini, assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff                                                                                                                 

Three senior U.S. law enforcement officials tell NBC News they are looking into whether two other individuals in the crowd were shot at the Trump rally.

Those officials tell NBC News that the threat has been “contained.”

Within minutes of the incident, Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., posted on X, “Biden sent the orders,” baselessly suggesting the president was responsible for Saturday’s incident.

Collins was quote-re-tweeting a screenshot from a recent Politico article, which quoted Biden telling donors on a private call that Democrats need to move on from his poor debate performance and start focusing on Trump. “So, we’re done talking about the debate, it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye,” Biden reportedly said.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said in a post on X that it’s responding to assist the Secret Service and other law enforcement partners.

“This is a top priority. We have no further comment at this time,” the agency’s post said.

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said in a post on X that he was “encouraged to hear President Trump’s team indicate that the former president is doing well.”

He added that the “entire nation must speak with one voice today to completely and unequivocally reject all political violence.”

Jake Traylor, a NBC News political embed, was on the scene in Butler when Trump was rushed offstage.

Traylor was in the press bin in the center of the crowd. He said they heard popping noises just a few minutes into Trump’s speech, at which point he was doing what he typically does, just talking to the crowd.

It was, and remains, unclear what caused the popping sound, Traylor said. He said he saw smoke when the pops were heard.

“It was a very quick scene and a scary, scary moment. No one knew what it was,” Traylor said.

There is a growing concern in law enforcement circles that this may have been a serious attempt on Trump’s life, two senior U.S. law enforcement officials say.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., joined the chorus of lawmakers condemning violence after the incident at Trump’s rally.

“Tonight, all Americans are grateful that President Trump appears to be fine after a despicable attack on a peaceful rally,” McConnell said in a post on X. “Violence has no place in our politics. We appreciate the swift work of the Secret Service and other law enforcement.”

NBC News correspondent Dasha Burns was at the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when the shots rang out.

“We were getting off of the press riser, getting to the ground level where all of the attendees are at this venue,” she said live on MSNBC after the incident. “We heard at first what I thought might have been fireworks. I even saw a little bit of smoke, wasn’t sure what was going on.”

She and her producer then realized “this might be something more serious,” she said.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., the House minority leader, said in a statement that his “thoughts and prayers are with” Trump.

“I am thankful for the decisive law enforcement response,” Jeffries said. “America is a democracy. Political violence of any kind is never acceptable.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement that he is “horrified” by the incident at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania and “relieved” that the former president is “safe.”

“Political violence has no place in our country,” Schumer added.

Elon Musk, the billionaire investor and head of X and other major companies, said shortly after tonight’s incident in Butler, Pa., that he endorses Trump for president.

“I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” Musk wrote in a post on X, along with video of Trump after Secret Service picked him up from the ground on the stage and he pumped his fist.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called on Americans to reject division and violence following the incident at Trump’s rally tonight.

“Now is the time for every American who loves our country to step back from the division, renounce all violence, and unite in prayer for President Trump and his family,” Kennedy said in a post on X.

In a statement, United States Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said “the former President is safe.”

The Secret Service said that the incident at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania is an “active investigation,” and further information will be released when available.

Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., tweeted that his father will “never stop fighting to Save America.” He shared a photo of his father pumping his fist with blood visible on his face as Secret Service whisked him away.

In a post on X, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro decried “violence targeted at any political party or political leader.”

“It has no place in Pennsylvania or the United States,” said Shapiro, a first-term Democrat.

Shapiro said he has been briefed on the situation at Trump’s rally in the city of Butler, adding that state police were at the scene and working with “federal and local partners.”

Trump’s presidential campaign said in a statement that the former president is “fine” and is “being checked out at a local medical facility.”

“President Trump thanks law enforcement and first responders for their quick action during this heinous act,” the campaign said.

The campaign did not provide any additional details, but said more information will follow.

Trump does not have a protective pool of reporters with him, which is what he had during his time as president and what Biden has around him now.

The pool follows the president during any public activities and provides information to the press corps.

Trump has Secret Service protection and a detail, but it’s hard to know where he is at this moment because there’s no protective pool.

Former Vice President Mike Pence said he and his wife are praying for the former president.

“Karen and I are praying for President Trump and urge every American to join us,” Pence said in a post on X.

Biden has been briefed on the Trump incident, a senior White House official said.

The president had just left church at 6:19 p.m. ET in Rehoboth Beach, which was after the incident occurred.

Asked whether he had been briefed on the shooting at the Trump rally, he responded, “No.”

He appeared to be briefed soon after, however, based on the official’s confirmation.

The Biden campaign is also aware and monitoring the situation, a senior spokesperson told NBC News.

Trump is expected to survive after the incident at his rally in Pennsylvania, two senior law enforcement officials briefed on the matter told NBC News.

The former president could be seen clutching his ear after popping noises were heard at the campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The exact nature of the incident remains unclear. It was not clear how or even if Trump was injured.

Trump was escorted off the stage and into a van after the loud popping noises that appeared to sound like gunshots.

Trump had blood on his ear and pumped his first as he left the stage. He appeared conscious the entire time.

Screams were heard in the crowd.

The rally was interrupted by loud popping noises. Secret Service protection jumped onstage.

This is a developing situation.

Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., expressed support for Biden, saying the caucus’ conversation with Biden earlier today was “productive and engaging.”

During the meeting, which was not held in person, Jayapal said that caucus members “spoke frankly to the President about our concerns and asked tough questions about the path forward.”

“We appreciate his willingness to thoughtfully answer and address our Members,” she said in the statement. “As a caucus, we will continue working to do everything in our power to defeat Donald Trump and promote our Proposition Agenda — a slate of day one, popular and populist policies to deliver for the people.”

BET News on Saturday announced that Biden will sit for an interview with the network that will air on Wednesday night.

BET announced that the interview will be conducted by Ed Gordon and that the president will be given the opportunity to “speak directly to Black America.”

Republicans in Wisconsin have long used Milwaukee as a political punching bag, while Trump has bashed the heavily Democratic city over crime and its election process — most recently calling it “horrible.”

But starting Monday, Milwaukee will be the site of the party’s biggest bash in years.

Despite those attacks, Republicans are flocking to the largest city in the Midwestern battleground state for the four-day national GOP convention, where the party will formally nominate Trump and seek to rally support less than four months out from the presidential election.

Read the full story here.

Tucker Carlson is planning to speak in Milwaukee this week, as Republicans from across the country gather to officially nominate Trump as the Republican presidential nominee.

Also included in the speaker list released by the Republican National Committee is rapper and influencer Amber Rose, TV personality Savannah Chrisley and country music singer Chris Janson.

The full speaker list includes dozens of elected Republican lawmakers and others notable in GOP circles, like tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who ran in the GOP presidential primary earlier this year, and Charlie Kirk, the CEO of Turning Point USA.

Notably, former first lady Melania Trump and Trump’s eldest daughter Ivanka Trump are not on the speaker’s list.

In an opinion piece published in The New York Times on Saturday, Sen. Bernie Sanders defended President Joe Biden’s decision to remain the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, writing that “I will do all that I can to see that President Biden is re-elected” and calling on party members to stop “bickering and nit-picking” over his candidacy.

The Vermont independent, who was one of several candidates in the 2020 Democratic primary that Biden ultimately won, added that he believes Biden is “the most effective president in the modern history of our country and is the strongest candidate to defeat Donald Trump.”

His piece comes two weeks after Biden’s dismal debate performance against former President Donald Trump.

Read the full story here.

Biden doesn’t have any public events on his schedule today, but he’ll hold multiple meetings with Democratic lawmakers, according to sources familiar with the matter.

One of the meetings will be with the Congressional Progressive Caucus, followed by one with the more moderate New Democrat Coalition.

The meetings come as Democratic lawmakers continue to express doubts about whether Biden should remain at the top of the ticket for November.

Connecticut Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont on Friday stopped short of calling for Biden to step aside as the Democratic nominee, but backed Democratic Rep. Jim Himes’ decision to suggest that Biden should step aside.

At a press conference following an unrelated event in West Haven, Connecticut, Lamont told reporters that he and Himes are “very simpatico,” but that “I’m probably not a press release, petition type of guy, but I understood totally what he did and how he did it.”

In a statement on Thursday, Himes said, “We must put forth the strongest candidate possible to confront the threat posed by Trump’s promised MAGA authoritarianism,” and added, “I no longer believe that is Joe Biden.”

Former President Donald Trump on Friday said that he’d like to announce his vice presidential running mate next week, potentially during the Republican National Convention, and named four key allies as potential picks.

“I’d love to do it during the convention, which would be you know, or just slightly before the convention, like Monday, love to do it on Tuesday or Wednesday, actually, but for a lot of complex reasons that you people understand, pretty much don’t do that,” Trump told “The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show.”

Trump will hold a rally in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania tonight, his second campaign rally this week.

The rally in Butler, in the western part of the state, comes a day after he teased his vice presidential pick and named the four top contenders: Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, JD Vance of Ohio and Tim Scott of South Carolina, and Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota.

Vice President Kamala Harris is set to deliver remarks today in Philadelphia as the keynote speaker of the Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote Presidential Town Hall.

Biden returned to the campaign trail yesterday with stops in the battleground state of Michigan, capped by a rally where he made forceful remarks defending his candidacy to a raucous crowd of supporters.

His energetic performance at the rally in Detroit came as a steady stream of Democratic lawmakers have called for Biden to leave the race.

During his speech, Biden outlined his priorities for the first 100 days of a second term, which included codifying protections from Roe v. Wade, expanding Social Security and banning assault weapons — all goals that would require congressional support.