Updated July 14, 2024 at 9:00am ET
A shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday evening is being investigated as an assassination attempt. The former president was grazed by a bullet as he was showing off a chart while on stage at the campaign event.
As the shots rang out just after 6pm ET, Trump reached for his right ear before seeing blood and dropping to his knees behind the podium. Secret Service agents swarmed and covered him. The presumptive GOP nominee was then shepherded off the stage and into a waiting vehicle by the agents, but not before defiantly raising his fist and shouting “fight, fight” at the thousands gathered. The crowd responded by breaking into a “USA! USA!” chant.
Secret Service has confirmed the 78 year old is “safe” and receiving medical attention. The shooter is confirmed dead, as is at least one attendee of the rally. Two others in attendance are said to be critically injured. “The Secret Service has implemented protective measures and the former president is safe,” the agency said in a statement. “This is now an active Secret Service investigation and further information will be released when available.”
The shooter is believed to have fired from the rooftop of a nearby building and was not inside the rally itself. Eye witnesses have reported seeing an individual climb to the roof with a firearm and alerted law enforcement. The shooter has been identified as a 20-year-old Pennsylvania man but his motive remains unknown.
Megyn was live on the air Saturday night to deliver the latest breaking updates in what she described as “a shocking moment in American history” and was joined by Rich Lowry, Eric Bolling, Buck Sexton, Bill Stanton, Jesse Kelly, and Dennis Prager for instant analysis. You can watch the full episode below and keep scrolling for highlights.
Trump Speaks
Trump took to Truth Social at 8:42pm ET to thank law enforcement for their quick response and explain that he was “shot with a bullet” that “pierced the upper part” of his right ear:
“I want to thank The United States Secret Service, and all of Law Enforcement, for their rapid response on the shooting that just took place in Butler, Pennsylvania. Most importantly, I want to extend my condolences to the family of the person at the Rally who was killed, and also to the family of another person that was badly injured. It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country. 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. 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!”
– Donald Trump, July 13, 2024, 8:42pm ET
While the former president’s motorcade was seen leaving the hospital he was being treated at around 9:10pm ET, a campaign source told The New York Post Trump will not be attending the UFC fight in Denver as originally planned on Saturday night. The Trump campaign and Republican National Committee confirmed that the RNC will go on as planned in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, beginning Monday and he will attend.
Trump returned to Truth Social Sunday morning to thank his supporters and offer condolences to his fellow victims. It concluded with a prayer emoji and his initials, “DJT.”
“Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers yesterday, as it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening. We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness. Our love goes out to the other victims and their families. We pray for the recovery of those who were wounded, and hold in our hearts the memory of the citizen who was so horribly killed. In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win. I truly love our Country, and love you all, and look forward to speaking to our Great Nation this week from Wisconsin.”
– Donald Trump, July 14, 2024, 7:36am ET
Biden Reacts
Speaking from a police precinct in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, President Joe Biden said there is “no place in America for this kind of violence” and described the situation “sick.” He also called for unity. “It’s one of the reasons we have to unite this country,” the president said. “We cannot allow for this to be happening. We cannot be like this. We cannot condone this.”
Biden noted that he hoped to speak with Trump tonight, and the White House later confirmed the two men had been in touch.
Instant Analysis
Rich Lowry, editor-in-chief National Review
“I want to weep for my country. It’s just horrible. There are no words for how terrible this is and how more terrible could have been…
The reason why assassinations fascinate people… [is] history telescopes down to inches and seconds. If JFK’s driver had sped up rather than slowed down to see what was happening after the first one or two shots, JFK would have survived that assassination attempt. If the Archduke Ferdinand after they threw a bomb at him, which didn’t work, just said, ‘We’re not doing anything else’… and if the car had not made a wrong turn down a narrow street that it couldn’t get out of… he would have lived and all of history would have been different.
But that moment of Trump pumping his fist shows what a sense of the moment. We get in fender benders where your head head goes back a little bit and you’re kind of shocked, you don’t know what happened to you, and it takes a little while to get your senses. To know that what that moment called for was strength and reassuring his supporters when… he’s just been inches from being killed… That is an image that will live throughout American political history.”
Eric Bolling, journalist and host
“The courage and the resolve that those Trump fans displayed as shots are being fired in their direction shows the resolve of the people who are supporting Trump and the resolve to make America great again. It really is shocking that those people didn’t run from gun shots. They maintained their position to be reassured that Trump was okay. Wow. That is an incredible observation.”
Buck Sexton, co-host of The Clay and Buck Show
“Like so many others, I’ve just been fielding calls [and] texts… ever since this happened with… people trying to analyze how such a thing could could go down tactically. Already, I think the sense is that the Secret Service was slow, certainly, and perhaps missed one of the most obvious overlooked points for there to be this kind of a shooting now on base.
I wasn’t at the rally, obviously, and I have to base this off of what is being shared not just in terms of the videos alone… but also it seems that the shooter on the rooftop was able to get up there. His riffle was visible to people nearby. There have been eyewitnesses talking about how they even tried to flag this to Secret Service. They were able to, once this guy opened fire, hit him with counter sniper fire. So, that response was rapid.
But how they could have… allowed anyone to get up on that building with a rifle, to me, it’s clearly a massive error. When a president almost loses his life or a presidential candidate and former president, in this case – this was an inch or two from national catastrophe. So, there was a clear failure here from the security protocols and we’re gonna have to figure out how to make sure President Trump is safe going through this election and, hopefully, beyond that when he’s president.”
Bill Stanton, security expert
“These law enforcement, all of them are willing to put their life on the line to protect the former president. That being said… having trained with some of the best in the world – ex-SWAT, ex-Delta Force, Navy SEALs in strategic response, and with the Secret Service – what I saw there was not their best day.
What do I mean? When they heard the shots, they kept him up there at the podium, in my opinion, for way too long… I saw a little bit confusion and I believe that comes from lack of proper planning.
I would be interested to see in the post-shooting review: Did they do a proper advance? Were the advance teams there? When were they there? Did they walk the perimeter? Were there undercovers within the crowd? Was there proper communication and coordination between the different departments? I could see there was some local, there was some strategic response team, there was counter snipers, and were there coordination amongst them?
They kept him up on that podium way too long, and while it made for a good optic, you know, ‘I want my shoes,’ they shouldn’t have listened to him. They should have got him right out of there. When Reagan got shot – if you can go back to that tape – they didn’t hesitate. They threw him. I even think they broke his ribs because they were so forceful getting him into the armored limo…
The pictures that we’re seeing – the close ups, the photographs – that could just as easily have been the scope of a rifle. We don’t work in the movie world, we work in the real world. There’s always room for improvement. And this has to be looked at, this will be studied, and hopefully the mistakes will be rectified…
I’m also curious to see… what type of budget does a former president have for the Secret Service? What is his detail, especially running for president? Do they have enough bodies? Do they have enough resource to do the proper advance work and coordination that’s needed as we’ve seen never more so than tonight?”
Jesse Kelly, host of I’m Right on The First TV
“We have a serious problem with communist violence in the country. That is what they believe. The left believes violence. It’s not what they do, it’s who they are. All political power comes from the barrel of a gun. Mao Zedong said that a long time ago. You don’t have to look far. You can go on Facebook or something like that and you’ll see just the regular neighborhood Democrat, when they get mad at somebody, it’s: ‘Hey, someone posts his address.’ It’s just natural for these people because, in their minds, they’re fighting a revolution.
And there are two different kinds of communists… There are the elite ones and there are the street ones. You have guys like Chuck Schumer. They’ll get up, and they’ll give speeches, and they’ll threaten Brett Kavanaugh by name, and tell him he’s gonna reap the whirlwind, and then he just washes his hands of the whole thing. And then there’s an assassin from California with a gun outside of Kavanugh’s home ready to put a bullet in his mouth.
This is how it works. And the reason it works this way is because after these street scumbags do the act of violence, they’re protected. They’re given legal protection by the dirty elite communists. Do I need to point to the Antifa people who firebombed an NYPD cop car and should have faced 15 years as they clink for terrorism? They’re already out on the street… protesting for Palestine and something stupid like that.
This happens all over. Democrat politicians, Democrat judges, Democrat DAs, they let these people go free with the understanding, with the anticipation that they’re going to do the violent things Democrats want done. We don’t have a ‘political violence problem’ in this country, and everyone who is saying that is dead fricken wrong. We have a communist violence problem in this county.”
Dennis Prager, cofounder of PragerU
“I wrote at least 15 years ago that we are in a civil war… and I wrote in the article that I pray it remains nonviolent. But you know you mentioned causality and correlation not necessarily being the issue. And you are exactly right. Sometimes there is causality and sometimes just two things happen at the same time… But I do believe there is causality.
Look, The New Republic, which was once a… magnificent liberal magazine… portrayed, in its most recent issues, Donald Trump as a fascist, as a Hitlerian, as a Nazi. And you can’t have it both ways. You can’t say that someone is Hitler, and then say, ‘Oh, gee, why would anybody shoot him?’
Morality has been my preoccupation all of my life. If you believe someone is Hitler, you are obligated to shoot him. I wish somebody in Germany had shot Hitler in the 1930s. The Holocaust would not have taken place. World War II would not have taken place, at least not in Europe.
So, you can’t do both, ‘Oh, we have nothing to do with this, even though we keep calling him Hitler.'”
You can check out Megyn’s full analysis by tuning in to episode 837 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.