Questions and Answers - This is known so far about the attempt on Donald Trump's life
## Contents
- What exactly happened at the campaign event?
- How is Donald Trump doing?
- What is known about the alleged shooter?
- What are the reactions?
- What does the incident mean for the further campaign?
- Is the shooting an isolated incident?
The United States is in shock. At a campaign event for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in the state of Pennsylvania on a Saturday evening, gunshots were heard. Trump is escorted off the stage by the Secret Service with a bloodied face. According to Secret Service reports, the alleged shooter and a spectator were killed, while two other spectators were seriously injured.
Trump speaks out after the attack and declares that he was hit in the ear. Later in the evening, the FBI classifies the incident as an "attempted murder." The law enforcement agencies are working under pressure, it is reported.
Answers to the most important questions.
What exactly happened at the campaign event?
The campaign event of Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania starts off normally. The crowd cheers for him. He begins his speech, criticizing Joe Biden as "the worst president of all time." Suddenly, gunshot sounds are heard. Trump puts his hand to his ear, ducks behind his lectern. The Secret Service rushes to get him off the stage. Panic breaks out in the crowd. People scream and fall to the ground.
The Secret Service is just managing to escort the former president off the stage when Trump stops: "Wait," he says and then shouts, "Fight, fight," while raising his bloodied fist. His supporters cheer and fall into ecstatic "USA, USA, USA" chants.
The Secret Service later reports that Trump is safe.
How is Donald Trump doing?
Trump's campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung announces that Trump is doing well. The 78-year-old former president is being examined in a local medical facility. The statement also thanks "the security forces and first responders for their quick action during this terrible incident."
Later, Trump himself speaks out on his Truth Social platform. A bullet "pierced the upper part of my right ear," he describes. "It's incredible that such an incident can occur in our country."
See here the images of an evening that will go down in history.
What is known about the alleged shooter?
Still, much is unclear. There is currently no public information about the identity of the alleged shooter. The shooter fired several shots "from an elevated position" outside the venue, according to the Secret Service. The shooter was then "neutralized," the agency confirmed. An eyewitness told the BBC that spectators had seen a armed man on the roof of a house before the shooting. US media report that investigators found an assault rifle.
The FBI classifies the shooting on Donald Trump as an "attempted murder." FBI Agent Kevin Rojek made the announcement at a press conference in Butler, Pennsylvania, saying, "This is an attempted murder against our former president Donald Trump."
US-President Joe Biden strongly condemned the attack. In the US, "there is no place for this kind of violence," he said. "It's sick." Previously, the President had already stated that "as a nation, we must stand united to condemn this." Additionally, he expressed gratitude towards Trump for being safe and in good health.
Many high-ranking representatives from both parties condemned the attack, including former President Barack Obama and the democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. The Republican leader of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, wrote on the platform X, expressing sympathy for Trump. The democratic Minority Leader of the Chamber, Hakeem Jeffries, expressed similar sentiments. "America is a democracy," he wrote on X. "Political violence in any form is never acceptable."
World leaders were shocked by the news from Pennsylvania.
What does the incident mean for the further campaign?
It is clear that the attack will further heat up the highly polarized election campaign. The Republicans have already identified their scapegoat. "Joe Biden sent the order," writes conservative Congressman Mike Collins on X. Senator J.D. Vance from Ohio is particularly explicit. "The Biden campaign's premise is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs," so Vance, who is being discussed as Trump's vice presidential candidate. "This rhetoric led directly to the attempted assassination of President Trump."
"There's no moment of containment – the attempted assassination attempt against Trump will be politically instrumentalized by the Republicans. Joe Biden is to blame – it's that simple," writes my colleague Marc Etzold in his analysis.
Next week, Donald Trump is to be officially nominated as the Republican Party's presidential candidate in Milwaukee.
Is the attempt on Trump an isolated case?
In the history of the United States, there have been numerous instances of violence against presidential candidates and sitting presidents:
- In 1865, US-President Abraham Lincoln was shot in the theater lobby in the US capital Washington while watching a play.
- James Garfield was assassinated in 1881, and William McKinley in 1901.
- US-President John F. Kennedy was shot on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas.
- Kennedy's brother Robert F. Kennedy, the Democratic candidate, was killed on June 6, 1968, in Los Angeles after an attack.
- When President Ronald Reagan was shot in Washington in 1981, his bodyguard threw himself protectively over him. After the shooting, Reagan's approval ratings soared. In 1984, he was re-elected with a landslide victory.
Following the attack, Donald Trump's election campaign events are expected to tighten security measures. Despite the incident, Trump continues his campaign, vowing to carry on and address the crowd with renewed vigor.
The shooting incident at Donald Trump's campaign event in Pennsylvania has sparked widespread condemnation from political figures across the political spectrum, stressing the importance of peace and unity during electoral campaigns.
