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Joe Biden admitted it was a “mistake” to use the word “bullseye” during a campaign call urging supporters to focus on Donald Trump’s agenda, prior to the attempted assassination of the former president on Saturday.
“It was a mistake to use the word. I didn’t say ‘crosshairs’. I said ‘bullseye.’ Focus on what he’s doing. Focus on his policies. Focus on the number of lies he told in the debate,” Biden told NBC’s Lester Holt during an interview at the White House on Monday.
Asked if the shocking incident had “changed the trajectory” of the presidential race, Biden replied: “I don’t know and you don’t know either.”
“I’ve thought less about the trajectory of the case [than] two things; one, what his health is and number two what happens from here on, in terms of the kind of coverage that the president and vice president and former president and new vice president get.”
During the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, the newly confirmed Republican presidential candidate was clipped in the right ear by a sniper’s bullet.
The motive of gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks remains a mystery, with investigators saying they believe he acted alone. Secret Service agents fatally shot him.
Key Points
- ‘Somebody took off his half his ear’ says Eric Trump as Donald seals nomination at RNC
- Biden admits saying ‘bullseye’ was a ‘mistake’ while discussing Trump agenda
- Trump reflects on ‘surreal’ assassination attempt: ‘I’m supposed to be dead’
- Biden asked whether Trump shooting has ‘changed trajectory of race'
- FBI names Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, as shooting suspect
- Judge dismisses Trump classified documents case
Final tragic tweet of fire chief killed in Trump rally
The 50-year-old father and retired fire chief killed at Donald Trump’s rally on Saturday made his final post on X just hours before he was shot dead.
“Trump rally! Butler, PA,” Corey Comperatore wrote on X in response to a question about users’ weekend plans.
Comperatore died at Trump’s Butler, Pennsylvania, rally after Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire from a nearby rooftop in an assassination attempt against the former president. The 20-year-old was killed by Secret Service agents soon after opening fire.
Katie Hawkinson reports:
Final tragic tweet of fire chief who was killed at trump rally
Corey Comperatore, 50, died after shielding his wife and daughter from gunfire
Namita Singh16 July 2024 05:00 1721102403Widow of ex-chief killed in Trump rally shooting reveals his final words
The bystander who died to an assassin’s bullet at a Trump rally on Saturday used his last breaths to tell his family to take cover, his widow has said.
Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old former volunteer fire chief from Sarver, Pennsylvania, was in the stands near Donald Trump’s podium when a gunman opened fire from a rooftop, meaning to kill the former president.
Comperatore reportedly threw his body over those of his wife and two children to shield them from the gunfire, and was shot in the head. His last words, his widow said, were simply “get down!”
“He’s my hero,” Helen Comperatore told The New York Post at the couple’s home on Monday. “He just said, ‘get down!’ That was the last thing he said.”
More in this report:
Widow of ex-chief killed in Trump rally shooting reveals his final words
Helen Comperatore said she passed on a phone call with President Joe Biden because their family is Trump supporters
Namita Singh16 July 2024 05:00 1721101824Border arrests plunge by 29 per cent in June to the lowest of Biden’s presidency
Arrests for illegally crossing the border from Mexico plunged 29 per cent in June, the lowest month of Joe Biden‘s presidency, according to figures released Monday that provide another window on the impact of a new rule to temporarily suspend asylum.
Arrests totaled 83,536 in June, down from 117,901 in May to mark the lowest tally since January 2021, US Customs and Border Protection said.
A seven-day average of daily arrests fell more than half by the end of June from Mr Biden’s announcement on 4 June that asylum processing would be halted when daily arrests reach 2,500, which they did immediately, said Troy Miller, acting Customs and Border Protection commissioner.
Report:
Border arrests plunge 29% in June to the lowest of Biden's presidency as asylum halt takes hold
Arrests for illegally crossing the border from Mexico plunged 29% in June to the lowest month of Joe Biden’s presidency
Namita Singh16 July 2024 04:50 1721101774Secret Service head breaks silence after Trump shooting
The head of the Secret Service has admitted that it was “unacceptable” for an armed assassin to come so close to killing former president Donald Trump.
In her first public comments since Saturday’s shooting, agency director Kimberly Cheatle said the gunman should never have been allowed to get in a position to take his shot and that “the buck stops with [her]”.
“It was unacceptable, and it’s something that shouldn’t happen again,” Cheatle said in an interview with ABC News on Monday.
My colleague Io Dodds reports:
Secret Service head breaks silence after Trump shooting and says she will not resign
Kimberly Cheatle said the security failures of Saturday evening must never be allowed to happen again - but said she doesn’t plan to step down
Namita Singh16 July 2024 04:49 1721101517Trump rally shooting victim’s widow has no ‘ill-will’ towards Biden
The widow of Corey Comperatore, the firefighter gunned down at Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, says despite being a staunch Republican, she has no “ill-will” against president Biden.
Helen Comperatore told The New York Post that she had refused a call from the president following the incident, because her husband would not have wanted her to talk to him.
But, she said: “I don’t have any ill-will towards Joe Biden.
“I’m not one of those people that gets involved in politics. I support Trump, that’s who I’m voting for but I don’t have ill-will towards Biden.
“He didn’t do anything to my husband. A 20-year-old despicable kid did.”
Alex Lang16 July 2024 04:45 1721101161Signs of trouble at Trump rally were evident before gunman opened fire
Signs of trouble were evident in the minutes before shots rang out at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania: Police had a report of a suspicious man pacing near the magnetometers and were apparently exchanging photos of the suspect. Witnesses pointed and shouted at an armed man on a nearby roof.
When a police officer climbed up to the roof to investigate, the gunman turned and pointed his rifle at him. But the officer did not — or could not — fire a single shot.
Report:
Signs of trouble at Trump rally were evident in minutes before gunman opened fire
Signs of trouble were evident in the minutes before shots rang out at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania: Police had a report of a suspicious man pacing near the magnetometers and were apparently exchanging photos of the suspect
Namita Singh16 July 2024 04:39 1721101023In video: JD Vance and RFK Jr to receive Secret Service protection after Trump shooting
RFK Jr and JD Vance to receive Secret Service after Trump rally shooting
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Ohio Senator JD Vance will now both receive Secret Service protection, following the attempted assassination of former US president Donald Trump. Trump was struck in the ear by a bullet during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday (13 July) The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was killed at the scene by Secret Service agents, but not before he had shot dead one bystander and critically injured two more. At the direction of President Joe Biden, both political figures will now receive protection, US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Monday (15 July). “In light of this weekend's events, the president has directed me to work with the Secret Service to provide protection to Robert Kennedy Jr.," Mayorakas said at the White House during a daily briefing.
Namita Singh16 July 2024 04:37 1721100999Biden admits saying ‘bullseye’ was a ‘mistake’
President Joe Biden said it was a “mistake” to use the word “bullseye” during a campaign call urging supporters to focus on Donald Trump’s agenda, as the former president’s allies attempt to cast blame on Mr Biden for the attempt on Trump’s life on Saturday.
Last week, Mr Biden told supporters on a private call to shift focus away from his poor debate performance last month and “put Trump in a bullseye” instead.
“The truth of the matter was, and I guess [what] I was talking about at the time was, there was very little focus on Trump’s agenda,” Mr Biden said in an interview with NBC News anchor Lester Holt on Monday.
Biden admits saying ‘bullseye’ was a ‘mistake’ while discussing Trump agenda
The president refutes false equivalency comparing his statements in a call to supporters to Trump’s anti-democracy rhetoric
Namita Singh16 July 2024 04:36 1721100407Funeral services planned for former fire chief killed at Trump rally
The Pennsylvania man killed when a sniper attempted to assassinate former president Donald Trump will have a private funeral after a public visitation later this week, according to the obituary posted on Monday afternoon by a funeral home.
Corey D Comperatore’s services will be led by his pastor at some point after an event for friends to celebrate his life and pay respects on Thursday in Freeport, Pennsylvania.
The obituary said the 50-year-old Comperatore, who was killed on Saturday, was born in Natrona Heights and spent a decade in the US Army Reserves.
More here:
Funeral services planned for former fire chief shot to death at Trump rally in Pennsylvania
A public visitation is planned for later this week for a Pennsylvania man killed when a sniper attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a campaign event
Namita Singh16 July 2024 04:26 1721100037‘I’m old’: Biden defends his mental fitness during interview on campaign future and Trump shooting
President Joe Biden fired back at questions about his mental fitness and accused news outlets of failing to treat Donald Trump’s false statements with the same level of scrutiny during an interview with NBC News on Monday.
In an interview from the White House with anchor Lester Holt, the president insisted that he is in control of his faculties and committed to staying in the race against his Republican rival despite calls from voters and Democratic party officials to step aside in the aftermath of his disastrous debate performance between the candidates.
Mr Biden admitted he’s “old” and that concerns about someone his age in the White House are “legitimate.”
Alex Woodward reports:
‘I’m old’: Biden defends his mental fitness during interview on campaign future
Biden fires back at NBC News for failing to question his Republican rival about his false statements
Namita Singh16 July 2024 04:20 Newer1 / 14OlderDisclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
