VP frontrunner JD Vance points finger at Biden for apparent assassination attempt at Trump rally

The man who could end up being Donald Trump’s running mate was quick to directly blame President Joe Biden for the apparent assassination attempt at the former president’s rally on Saturday in Pennsylvania.

JD Vance, who is just days away from potentially being announced as the nominee for vice president at the Republican National Convention, pointed the finger at Democrats and the president after Trump was shot at during his campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania.

He was led away clutching the side of his bloody head.

One spectator was killed and two others were left in critical condition in the surreal shooting that sent shockwaves through the crowd.

The suspected gunman was shot dead by a Secret Service agent at the scene.

Follow our live blog for updates on the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump

On Sunday morning, the FBI identified the suspect as Thomas Matthew Crooks – a 20-year-old Pennsylvania resident who was a registered Republican voter, according to online records.

Vance, a freshman Republican senator from Ohio, quickly used the incident to attack Biden

In a post on Saturday evening, he wrote: “Today is not just some isolated incident. 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.”

He was not the only Republican to take their response to the tragedy as far.

Without offering a shred of evidence, Rep Mike Collins, a right-wing conservative from Georgia, made the wild assertion that the local district attorney in the district of Pennsylvania where the rally took place should bring the incumbent president up on charges for “inciting” the assassination of his political rival, an allegation Trump himself has not made in his own social media posting following the shooting.

“Joe Biden sent the orders,” tweeted the congressman.

“The Republican District Attorney in Butler County, PA, should immediately file charges against Joseph R. Biden for inciting an assassination,” added Collins.

The Independent has reached out to the Biden campaign for comment on Vance and Collins’ remarks.

Vance’s statement is notable given that he’s one of just a few lawmakers still in the running to serve as Trump’s vice presidential nominee on the Republican 2024 ticket. He and the two other top contenders, Sen Marco Rubio and Gov Doug Burgum, all met with the former president within the last day; the Republican National Convention is only days away, with the first official events beginning on Monday.

Republicans from across the country are meeting in Milwaukee for their party’s nominating convention, where Trump is set to be nominated to run for the White House a third time. He won this year’s presidential primary by a commanding margin, only losing one state.

The Ohio senator is coming up on the second anniversary of his election to the Senate; just a year and seven months into his first term in the upper chamber. His contention for the role of vice president follows his come-from-behind victory in the Ohio Republican Senate primary in 2022, thanks to Trump’s endorsement, and his subsequent defeat of then-Congressman Tim Ryan for the seat in the general election.

Meanwhile, Rubio’s X feed was full of retweets about the shooting. He also attacked early media coverage of the apparent assassination attempt, when it still remained unclear what had transpired.

“Praying for President Trump and all those attending the rally in Pennsylvania today,” he wrote.

Burgum’s statements were more limited, and expressed support for the former president, whom the governor claimed was “stronger” than his political foes.

Trump himself shared a graphic statement about the shooting, saying a bullet had pierced his right ear.

“Nothing is known at this time about the shooter, who is now dead. I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear,” he said. “I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”

In a new statement on Sunday morning, the former president called on the US to “stand united” as he thanked God for preventing the “unthinkable from happening”.