Joe Biden to address the nation on Trump's shooting as he works to balance politics with calls for unity

Washington: President Joe Biden is to address the nation Sunday afternoon after a Situation Room briefing about the apparent assassination attempt on his predecessor, Donald Trump. The announcement of Biden's planned remarks came after homeland security and law enforcement officials briefed Biden, and the White House continued to call for national unity and condemn the stunning act of violence.

Vice President Kamala Harris joined Biden for an update from top investigators, including Attorney General Merrick Garland, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray. Also participating were White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Kim Cheatle, director of the US Secret Service.

Biden quickly denounced the shooting and talked to Trump on Saturday night. His campaign team, meanwhile, is grappling with how to manage the political implications of an attack on the man who Biden hopes to defeat in the November election.


In the moments after the shooting, Biden's reelection campaign said it was putting a hold on "all outbound communications and working to pull down our television ads as quickly as possible." It was not clear how long the suspension would last.

Harris postponed a planned campaign trip to Florida on Tuesday, where she was to meet with Republican women voters in light of Saturday's shooting, according to a campaign official.

Investigators are still in the early stages of determining what occurred and why. But some Biden critics are calling out the president for telling donors on a private call July 8 that "it's time to put Trump in the bullseye."

A person familiar with those remarks said Sunday that the president was trying to make the point that Trump had gotten away with a light public schedule after last month's debate while the president himself faced intense scrutiny from many even within his own party for his dismal performance in the faceoff.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to more freely discuss private conversations.

In the donor call, Biden said: "I have one job and that's to beat Donald Trump ... I'm absolutely certain I'm the best person to be able to do that."

He continued: "So, we're done talking about the debate. It's time to put Trump in the bullseye. He's gotten away with doing nothing for the last 10 days except ride around in his golf cart, bragging about scores he didn't score ... Anyway I won't get into his golf game."