U.S. President Joe Biden decried a second, apparent assassination attempt against his predecessor, condemning the political violence as un-American.
"There’s no place for political violence in America. None. Zero. Never,” Biden told a conference of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) in Philadelphia.
“In America, we resolve our differences peacefully at the ballot box. Not at the end of a gun,” Biden said Monday.
“America suffered too many times the tragedy of an assassin's bullet,” he added. “It solves nothing and just tears the country apart.”
Biden’s comments came just about 24 hours after U.S. Secret Service agents spotted a suspected gunman at former President Donald Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Officials said Trump was about 365 to 455 meters from where the gunman was lying in wait, Sunday, hidden in some bushes along a chain link perimeter fence between the course’s fifth and seventh holes.
The agent fired at least four shots in the direction of the gunman but did not hit him. The gunman then fled without firing a shot.
Sheriff’s deputies in neighboring Martin County apprehended the suspect, identified as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, without incident on the Interstate 95 highway about 65 kilometers from the golf course.
Shortly after the Sunday incident, Trump assured Americans on his Truth Social platform that he was safe.
“I am safe and well, and no one was hurt,” Trump said in one of the campaign messages. “But there are people in this world who will do whatever it takes to stop us.
“I would like to thank everyone for your concerns and well wishes — It was certainly an interesting day!” Trump said. He praised his Secret Service detail, saying, “The job was done absolutely outstanding.”
But Biden Monday called on lawmakers to provide additional resources for the Secret Service, noting the apparent attempt to kill Trump, who is also the Republican presidential candidate for November’s election, is the second in two months.
"The Secret Service needs more help," Biden told reporters at the White House, before leaving for Philadelphia.
"I think the Congress should respond to their needs," Biden said. "I think we may need more personnel."
Biden added, “Thank God the president's OK."
Trump’s election opponent, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, also voiced her concern.
"I am glad he is safe,” Harris said Sunday. “Violence has no place in America."
The Secret Service, along with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, are investigating the latest attempt to kill Trump.
The suspect, Routh, made his initial appearance in a federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida on Monday.
He has been charged with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
The charging documents allege Routh dropped his fully-loaded AK-style rifle at the scene and left behind a GoPro camera mounted to the fence and backpacks before fleeing in a black Nissan car.
On Monday, Trump told Fox News Digital that the accused gunman “believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it.” Trump added, “Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country — both from the inside and out.”
Trump has not announced any changes to his campaign schedule and is set to speak live on X on Monday night from his Mar-a-Lago resort to launch his sons' crypto platform.
Secret Service officials are expected to brief Trump Monday on their investigation.
Meanwhile, the leaders of a congressional bipartisan task force investigating the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump said they have requested a briefing by the Secret Service on Sunday’s incident.
"We are thankful that the former president was not harmed but remain deeply concerned about political violence and condemn it in all of its forms," Congressmen Mike Kelly, a Pennsylvania Republican, and Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat, said in a statement.
Some material in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
