Republican lawmakers blame Biden for shooting at Trump rally that left former president injured
Michael Collins of Georgia claimed that ‘Joe Biden sent the orders’
Support truly
independent journalism
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
![Louise Thomas](https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/support-us/louise-thomas.png)
Louise Thomas
Editor
A freshman Republican has accused President Joe Biden of ordering the shooting at a rally in Pennsylvania that left Donald Trump injured.
The former president was rushed from the stage, with blood running down his face soon after he began to speak on Saturday, as shots were fired toward the stage.
He was bundled him into a waiting motorcade by his Secret Service detail.
Trump’s campaign later said that is he “fine” and being “checked out a local medical facility.”
Secret Service said that one spectator was killed and two critically injured in the assassination attempt.
Follow our live blog for updates on the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump
The suspected shooter, who was later identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by an agent on the scene.
The motive for the attack remains unclear. Crooks, a 20-year-old Pennsylvania resident,, was a registered Republican voter, but also donated $15 to a Democratic-aligned PAC, according to online records.
Less than an hour after the shooting, Georgia GOP Representative Mike Collins posted a screenshot of a quote from Joe Biden, which read, “we’re done talking about the debate, it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye.”
The president made the remarks last Monday during a speech to Democratic donors, Politico reported.
“Joe Biden sent the orders,” Collins posted, above the quote.
Collins, who is known to make inflammatory remarks on social media, also called on Biden to be prosecuted for the shooting.
“The Republican District Attorney in Butler County, PA, should immediately file charges against Joseph R. Biden for inciting an assassination,” he said. Other Republicans seemed to fault Democrats for the shooting.
“Today is not just some isolated incident,” Ohio Senator JD Vance, a potential Trump running mate, posted on X. “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.”
Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, another Trump ally, retweeted Vance’s remarks.
In a statement on Saturday night, President Joe Biden said every American must condemn political violence after the shooting.
![Donald Trump is helped off the stage at a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania by Secret Service agents after he is injured in a shooting on Saturday](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/07/14/01/newFile-1.jpg)
Speaking from a convention center at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, Biden said he has been “thoroughly briefed by all the agencies in the federal government” on the situation and that he’s attempted to get ahold of Trump but had been unsuccessful, because he was “with his doctors.”
Biden said he plans on speaking with Trump’s doctors as well, and said there was “no place in America for this kind of violence.”
“It’s sick,” he said. “It’s sick.”
Biden said the incident at the rally demonstrates one of the reasons why “we have to united this country” and said Americans “cannot allow for this to be happening.”
“We cannot be like this. We cannot condone this,” he said.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments