President Joe Biden Declares There Is 'No Place for Political Violence' as Donald Trump Blames Him for Alleged Assassination Attempt
President Joe Biden addressed the alleged second assassination attempt against Donald Trump while speaking at the National HCBU Week Conference in Philadelphia, Penn., on Monday, September 16.
"I commend the Secret Service for the expert handling of the situation ... The former president is protected from harm and the subject is in custody," Biden, 81, told the crowd. "An acting head of the Secret Service is in Florida today assessing what happened and determining whether any further adjustments need to be made to ensure the safety of our former president."
"Let me just say, there is no — and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, those of you who know me and many of you do — no place for political violence in America," he said firmly. "None. Zero. Never. I’ve always condemned political violence and always will in America."
Biden said that in the U.S., citizens should "resolve our differences peacefully at the ballot box, not at the end of a gun."
"America has suffered too many times the tragedy of an assassin’s bullet. It solves nothing and just tears the country apart. We must do everything we can to prevent it and never give it any oxygen," he concluded his statement.
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As OK! previously reported, 58-year-old suspect Ryan Wesley Routh was taken into police custody on Sunday after he allegedly pointed a rifle near Trump's West Palm Beach course where the 78-year-old was playing golf.
His charged included possession of a firearm while a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an "obliterated" serial number.
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Despite Biden's call for an end to political violence amid the 2024 presidential election, Trump claimed on Monday that both President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were directly to blame for the attempt.
"The Rhetoric, Lies, as exemplified by the false statements made by Comrade Kamala Harris during the rigged and highly partisan ABC Debate, and all of the ridiculous lawsuits specifically designed to inflict damage on Joe’s, then Kamala’s, Political Opponent, ME, has taken politics in our Country to a whole new level of Hatred, Abuse, and Distrust," he wrote via Truth Social.
"The bullets are flying, and it will only get worse! Allowing millions of people, from places unknown, to INVADE and take over our Country, is an unpardonable sin," he added.
Routh is expected to appear in court on September 23 for a pre-detention hearing. His arraignment is scheduled for the following week on September 30.