Milwaukee:

The gunman who shot at former president Donald Trump during an election rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday appears to have acted alone, said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which is probing the incident as a potential “domestic terrorism” act.

The gunman, shot dead by a sniper, has been identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks (20).

“At this point in the investigation, it appears that he was a lone actor, but we still have more investigation to go,” said Robert Wells, the executive assistant director of the FBI’s National Security Branch.

The FBI, he said, is investigating this as an assassination attempt and also as a “potential domestic terrorism act”. The counterterrorism division and criminal divisions are working together to determine the motive, he added.

Trump was left with a bloodied face after a bullet pierced the upper part of his right ear. He is now safe and continuing with his schedule that includes travelling to Milwaukee to attend the Republican National Convention, which would formally nominate him as the party’s presidential nominee against incumbent Joe Biden.

The FBI is leading the investigation into the assassination attempt.

“The shooter may be deceased, but the investigation is very much ongoing. And, because of that, we are limited in what we say at this point,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said.

“What we witnessed yesterday was nothing short of an attack on democracy and our democratic process,” he told reporters at a news conference in Washington DC.

According to an FBI official, the investigation into the gunman at Donald Trump’s rally Saturday has not yet turned up any mental health issues, threatening posts, or other motives, but cautioned it was still early.

The shooter, as per FBI, used an AR-style rifle chambered in 5.56mm, a common calibre for such weapons.

The New York Times said authorities were scouring the gunman’s social media and other property as they sought to determine a motive for the attack.

Biden is likely to address the nation at 8 pm from the Oval Office. He will give “a forceful and needed address to update the nation on the horrifying attack on Donald Trump and the need for every American to come together to not just condemn, but put to an end political violence in this country once and for all,” a campaign official told the daily.

Crooks graduated from the Community College of Allegheny County two months ago, earning an associate degree in engineering science, school officials said in a statement, adding that they were “shocked and saddened by the horrific turn of events.”

Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the Secret Service, in a memo to her agents, said “The attempted assassination of former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, is a moment that will forever be remembered in history.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Saturday said he was shot at during his rally in Pennsylvania and a bullet pierced the upper part of his right ear. 

In his first statement issued on the social media platform Truth Social, 78-year-old Trump thanked the US Secret Service for saving his life. 

“I want to thank the United States Secret Service, and all of Law Enforcement, for their rapid response to the shooting that just took place in Butler, Pennsylvania,” the former president said. 

“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,” he said. 

“US Secret Service personnel neutralised the shooter, who is now deceased. The US Secret Service quickly responded with protective measures and Former President Trump is safe. One spectator was killed, and two spectators were critically injured,” he said, adding that this incident is currently under investigation and the Secret Service has notified the FBI. 

Trump said 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 realised then what was happening. God bless America!” Trump said. 

As the bullet hit his ears, the former president was seen ducking with the secret service surrounding him. He could be heard making a few comments on an audio feed from the stage. Trump said, “Let me get my shoes,” as he was escorted to the safe place. He was seen pumping his fist to the public. 

The shocking incident happened two days before the start of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where Trump will formally become the party’s nominee. 

According to The Wall Street Journal, eyewitness Colleen Phillips (62) said she was about eight rows from the stage when she heard the sounds of gunfire. “We had a little prayer circle for President Trump,” Phillips said. “I don’t know what’s wrong with people.” Another eyewitness Mark McEvoy (50) said he thought he heard eight to 10 shots. “I saw Trump go down, but then I saw him get up and he raised his hand that he was OK,” McEvoy told the Financial Daily. — PTI

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents as he is helped off the stage at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa. on July 13, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 14 joined world leaders in condemning the assassination attempt that targeted former U.S. President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania. Mr. Trump was addressing a campaign rally at Butler Country when a shooter perched on a nearby rooftop fired several gunshots that left one person dead and several injured. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has also condemned the attack on Mr. Trump.

Donald Trump shooting LIVE updates July 14, 2024

“Deeply concerned by the attack on my friend, former President Donald Trump. Strongly condemn the incident. Violence has no place in politics and democracies. Wish him speedy recovery. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the deceased, those injured and the American people,” said Prime Minister Modi.

Rahul Gandhi wished President Trump a “swift and complete recovery” and said, “I am deeply concerned by the assassination attempt on former U.S. President Donald Trump. Such acts must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.” 

Condemning the incident, President Joe Biden said, “There is no place for this kind of violence in America.” Former U.S. President Barack Obama also commented on the alarming development that came in the backdrop of a bitter political campaign.

“There is absolutely no place for political violence in our democracy. Although we don’t yet know exactly what happened, we should all be relieved that former President Trump wasn’t seriously hurt, and use this moment to recommit ourselves to civility and respect in our politics,” said President Obama.

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has also responded to the attack on former President Trump and said, “I’m sickened by the shooting at former President Trump. It cannot be overstated — political violence is never acceptable. My thoughts are with former President Trump, those at the event, and all Americans.”

Meanwhile, U.K.’s newly elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned the incident saying, “Political violence in any form has no place in our societies, and my thoughts are with all the victims of this attack.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he was “shocked by the apparent attack on President Trump.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was “following with apprehension” updates from Pennsylvania and wished Trump a speedy recovery.

The right-wing leader expressed her hope that “in the following months of the electoral campaign, dialogue and responsibility can prevail over hate and violence.”

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also spoke out against political attacks, saying “We must stand firm against any form of violence that challenges democracy.”

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te offered his “sincere condolences” to the shooting victims.

“Political violence of any form is never acceptable in our democracies,” he said.

Australia’s Anthony Albanese said he was “shocked by the terrible scenes” at the Trump campaign event, expressing his relief that the former U.S. president was safe.

“This was an inexcusable attack on the democratic values that Australians and Americans share and the freedom that we treasure,” Mr. Albanese said.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Chris Luxon echoed these views, writing “no country should encounter such political violence.”

(With AFP inputs)

Billionaire Elon Musk has donated to a super political action committee working to elect Donald Trump to the White House, a major gambit by the world’s richest person to make his imprint on the US political landscape.

Musk has contributed to a low-profile group called America PAC, according to people familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity to detail his plans. It’s unclear how much Musk has given, but the people characterized the figure as a sizable amount. The PAC is next required to disclose its list of donors on July 15.

The move highlights the growing influence of a technology mogul who tops the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with a net worth of $263.6 billion and his shift from a self-described political independent – who said he preferred to stay out of politics – into a figure who regularly uses his X social-media platform to espouse right-leaning views and assail Democrats.

The money injection from Musk comes at a time when Trump has overtaken his rival, President Joe Biden, in fundraising with the help of deep-pocketed Wall Street and corporate donors. Biden’s own money raising has dropped off following a calamitous debate that led prominent Democratic donors to put away their checkbooks.

Musk has yet to publicly endorse a candidate in the 2024 race and said earlier this year he did not anticipate financing either Trump or Biden’s election efforts, but his decision to open his pocketbook presents an opportunity for him to become a financial juggernaut for Republicans.

Multiple requests for comment to Musk were not returned. The Trump campaign declined to comment.

Chris Gober, America PAC’s treasurer, declined to comment.

Ground-Game Boost

America PAC is working mostly behind the scenes to bolster the Trump campaign’s ground game.

Though Federal Election Commission disclosures don’t detail where work is occurring, canvassing and get-out-the-vote efforts are conducted most intensively in key battleground states that will determine the outcome of the election.

Musk’s efforts threaten to deal a devastating blow to Biden and Democrats, who are already mired in an intraparty battle over the president’s political future.

Democrats invested heavily in field offices and staff in swing states, moves Biden regularly touts on the stump.

A super PAC matching those efforts on Trump’s behalf gives Republicans a major cash advantage to spend official campaign money elsewhere, in what is shaping up to be the most expensive presidential election in US history.

Among outside organizations backing Trump, America PAC is the biggest spender on direct voter contacts. It has spent $15.8 million so far, with $13.1 million of that going for field operations, federal records show. It has also paid for digital media, texting and phone calls to reach voters.

The group focuses on door-to-door persuasion and get-out-the-vote efforts. A recent ruling by the FEC allows super PACs to coordinate with campaigns on voter outreach.

America PAC has hired In Field Strategies, a national grassroots firm that’s also done work for the Republican National Committee.

Representatives for In Field didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Corporate Impact

The political money makes Musk an even more formidable Washington player. He derives his wealth primarily from his holdings in electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc., SpaceX and X. His companies already boast sizable government contracts and regularly clash with federal agencies over regulations.

Some of Trump’s proposed policies, such as dismantling Biden’s measures to transition the US to electric vehicles and vows to impose tariffs on Chinese EV makers, would have a direct impact on Tesla.

Musk and Trump have clashed in the past but the two have grown closer with the tech entrepreneur advising the former president on electric vehicles and crypto policy.

During Tesla’s annual meeting last month, Musk discussed his relationship with Trump.

“He does call me out of the blue for no reason,” Musk said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican former President Donald Trump will face each other in the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, after a divisive, closely fought contest. Several third-party hopefuls are also running.

Here is a list of the candidates:

REPUBLICAN PARTY

DONALD TRUMP

Trump, 78, became the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a crime when a Manhattan jury in May found him guilty of falsifying documents to cover up a payment to a porn star to silence her ahead of the 2016 election. He says he is innocent and will appeal the conviction.

Trump’s July 11 sentencing was postponed until Sept. 18 after he asked for a chance to argue he should have been immune from prosecution following a July Supreme Court ruling that presidents are entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts.

On Monday, the Republicans National Convention convenes to formally nominate the former president to face Biden in what would be the first presidential rematch in nearly 70 years. The party mirrored Trump’s views in its new policy platform.

Trump, in office from 2017-2021, has leveraged his unprecedented legal challenges to solidify support among his base and has cast his third bid for the White House in part as “retribution” against perceived political enemies.

But after his felony conviction, 10% of Republican and 25% of independent registered voters said they were less likely to vote for him, Reuters/Ipsos polling found.

Trump faces 54 charges in three other criminal cases: a federal case involving efforts to subvert the 2020 election, a Georgia election interference case and a federal case in Florida over his handling of classified documents after leaving office. He denies any wrongdoing.

However, he is unlikely to face any other trials before the Nov. 5 election. July’s Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity makes it improbable that Trump will be tried on federal criminal charges regarding efforts to undo the 2020 election loss to Biden before voters cast their ballots.

Trump has refused to commit to accepting the 2024 election results or to rule out possible violence around the Nov. 5 contest or his sentencing and is already laying the groundwork to contest a potential election loss.

He calls his supporters jailed for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol “hostages” and “warriors,” and uses increasingly dystopian rhetoric, including calling his enemies “vermin.”

If elected, Trump has vowed “revenge” on his political enemies and said he would not be a dictator except “on day one,” later calling that “a joke.”

He also wants the power to replace federal civil service workers with loyalists, while a consortium of Trump-friendly think tanks touts a sweeping policy agenda known as “Project 2025” that takes aim at diversity programs and the Justice Department’s independence, among other reported plans. Trump has sought to distance himself from the plan.

On foreign policy, Trump sparked criticism from Western leaders for saying the U.S. would not defend NATO members that did not spend enough on defense and that he would encourage Russia to attack them. He has also questioned military aid for Ukraine.

Trump has made immigration a top domestic campaign issue, vowing to carry out mass deportations with the National Guard and possibly federal troops, end birthright citizenship, and expand a travel ban on people from certain countries.

He has referred to some migrants as “animals” who are “poisoning the blood of our country,” among other inflammatory remarks, and has not ruled out building detention camps on U.S. soil. But foreigners who graduate from a U.S. college would get a green card allowing them to stay, he said, which his campaign later said would only apply to the “most skilled” graduates who had been vetted.

On abortion, Trump takes credit for the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade and has said abortion should remain a state issue.

While he has criticized some Republican-led state actions such as those in Florida and Arizona, he said he would allow Republican-led states to track women’s pregnancies and prosecute those who violate their state bans. Trump has said he does not support a ban on access to birth control.

He promised to eliminate Obamacare health insurance before saying on April 11 that he would not “terminate” it. On education, he has pledged to halt federal funding to schools with vaccine mandates and to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education. He has also vowed to undo much of the Biden administration’s work to fight climate change.

DEMOCRATIC PARTY

JOE BIDEN

Biden has cast himself as the country’s best hope to defend American liberties and protect democracy, saying Trump is unhinged and threatens the future of the country.

While he faced no serious challenger in the Democratic primaries, his weak performance at the first presidential debate against Trump has prompted some Democrats to call for him to step aside as the party prepares to formally nominate him.

Already the oldest U.S. president ever at 81, Biden must now convince his own party as well as voters that he is more fit for office than Trump, who is just three years his junior.

One in three Democrats think Biden should end his reelection bid following the debate, but no prominent elected Democrat does any better than Biden in a hypothetical match-up against Trump, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released in July.

The July Reuters/Ipsos poll puts both Biden and Trump on 40% among registered voters, suggesting that Biden had not lost ground since the debate. Trump leads Biden in many battleground states, several other polls have shown.

The economy will also likely be a major factor in determining whether Biden returns to the White House amid low approval ratings.

While the U.S. escaped an anticipated recession and is growing faster than economists expected, voters have been disenchanted with rising food costs, higher fuel prices and elevated interest rates, even as more recent data shows consumer prices moderating and inflation cooling.

Biden pushed through massive economic stimulus and infrastructure spending packages to boost U.S. industrial output but has received next to no credit from voters so far.

His campaign has highlighted new semiconductor manufacturing plants, housing plans and other economic efforts. Two labor groups, the United Auto Workers Union and the North America’s Building Trade Union, have endorsed him while the Teamsters have yet to announce which candidate they are backing. Three groups representing older Americans have also endorsed Biden.

Along with Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden has zeroed in on abortion as a top issue. They also created a new coalition to court Black voters, a critical voting bloc.

Biden’s handling of immigration policy has been criticized by Republicans and some Democrats as he has struggled with millions of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

In June, he signed an executive order to curb migration along the southern border. He also announced a new path for citizenship for certain immigrants in the country illegally who are married to U.S. citizens.

The president has led the response of Western governments to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, persuading allies to punish Russia and support Kyiv, including at NATO’s summit in Washington. He also secured additional funding from Congress.

Biden has provided military aid to Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack while urging more humanitarian assistance for Palestinians as a May Reuters/Ipsos poll found Democrats remain divided over the issue.

He has faced criticism from many Democrats and younger voters for continuing to give weapons to Israel while largely failing to curb Israel’s deadly military offensive in Gaza. Biden has presented a new Israeli proposal for a fresh Gaza ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages while talks to end the conflict continue.

MARIANNE WILLIAMSON

Best-selling author and self-help guru Marianne Williamson, 72, relaunched her long-shot 2024 presidential bid earlier this year focusing on “justice and love” less than one month after dropping out.

In a February statement, she said she was getting back in to fight Trump’s “dark and authoritarian vision” after earlier suspending it because she was losing “the horse race.”

Williamson previously ran as a Democrat in the 2020 presidential primary but dropped out before voting began.

INDEPENDENTS

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.

An anti-vaccine activist and environmental advocate, Kennedy, 70, is running as an independent after initially challenging Biden for the Democratic nomination but missed the deadline to qualify for the first presidential debate.

While he lags in overall polling, Kennedy could siphon votes from Trump and Biden, with a June Reuters/Ipsos poll showing he was backed by 10% of respondents.

The son of Democratic U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968 during his own presidential bid, Kennedy has drawn rebukes from his famous family, which endorsed Biden.

Kennedy, who chose wealthy lawyer Nicole Shanahan as his running mate, supports Israel and questioned a six-week ceasefire backed by Biden.

He said he views the U.S. southern border situation as a humanitarian crisis and opposes Trump’s border wall. He has also vowed to repeal parts of Biden’s climate bill over tax breaks he says help the oil industry.

Kennedy has taken different positions on abortion rights, including restrictions on when a woman can access an abortion. He told Reuters he thought every abortion was a “tragedy” but that it should be a woman’s right “throughout the pregnancy.”

He has been criticized for making false medical claims over the years on vaccines but says he would still allow Americans to access them.

Asked about an alleged sexual assault, he said in July that he has “so many skeletons in my closet.” His campaign has also said Kennedy had a brain worm more than a decade ago but he has fully recovered.

Kennedy’s campaign has said he is officially on the ballot in a handful of states so far, including California, Michigan and Utah, although he faces a challenging, costly battle to be listed in all 50.

CORNEL WEST

The political activist, philosopher and academic is making a third-party bid for president that is most likely to appeal to progressive, Democratic-leaning voters.

West, 71, initially ran as a Green Party candidate but said in October that people “want good policies over partisan politics” and declared himself an independent. He has promised to end poverty and guarantee housing.

GREEN PARTY

JILL STEIN

Jill Stein, a physician who ran under the Green Party in 2016, is trying once again in 2024.

She launched her current campaign accusing Democrats of betraying their promises “for working people, youth and the climate again and again – while Republicans don’t even make such promises in the first place.”

Stein, 74, raised millions of dollars for recounts after Trump’s surprise 2016 victory. Her allegations yielded only one electoral review in Wisconsin that showed Trump had won.

LIBERTARIAN PARTY

CHASE OLIVER

While the Libertarian Party invited both Trump and Kennedy to speak at their convention in late May, it ultimately selected Chase Oliver, 38. Oliver ran for a Georgia state Senate seat in 2022 and garnered 2% of the vote.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

Anyone expecting Joe Biden to step aside from the US presidential race without a fight had not fully considered the life story of a proud but often stubborn man.

From playground punch-ups to terrible tragedies and multiple White House bids, Biden has long seen his life as a series of comebacks against impossible odds.

And as a Democratic revolt over his debate debacle against Donald Trump appears to sputter for now, the 81-year-old seems determined to win the fight of his political life.

Unless a major shift occurs, it will likely fall to US voters to decide whether Biden stages another turnup for the books — or whether hubris condemns him and his party to a historic defeat by Trump.

Biden has repeatedly returned to the image of himself as an underdog since the debate, repeating his family’s mantra that “when you get knocked down, you get back up.”

“What we’ve seen the last 10 to 12 days is certainly fundamental to the Joe Biden story,” his spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said from the White House podium on Tuesday.

“He is someone that is certainly counted out many, many times in his career. People tend to knock him down, and you hear him say he gets back up.

“This is the story of him standing up for himself, standing up for millions of Americans.”

‘Punch the guy’ 

That outlook was formed by a hardscrabble childhood in the American rust-belt, as part of a close-knit Irish Catholic family known for its intense pride.

His mother Jean told the young Joey and his siblings every day that “nobody was better than a Biden,” Ben Cramer wrote in his book “What It Takes,” about the 1988 US election campaign.

He was also known for never backing down.

“Most guys who got into a fight, they’d square off… Joey didn’t do that,” Cramer wrote. “He decided to fight… BANGO — he’d punch the guy in the face.”

One affliction Biden famously had to battle was a childhood stutter.

Repeatedly humiliated at school, the young Biden ended up teaching himself how to speak smoothly by sheer determination, repeating phrases again and again into the mirror.

But Biden’s biggest test was yet to come.

In 1972, he was only 29 and had just been elected senator for Delaware when his wife Neilia and their one-year-old daughter Naomi were killed in a car crash, while their young sons Beau and Hunter were left badly injured.

Tragedy struck again in 2015 when Beau died of brain cancer aged 46.

Biden also had to deal with the agony of Hunter’s severe drug addiction and legal problems.

“Sometimes I marvel at Joe’s strength. His life has been marked by cruel losses,” First Lady Jill Biden, whom Biden married in 1977, said in her memoir “Where the Light Enters.”

‘Psychological prison’ 

With his family close around him, Biden has also ridden out a series of political humiliations.

In 1988 he was forced to abandon his first presidential bid following a plagiarism scandal.

His next bid in 2008 ended in heavy defeat in the Democratic primaries, before Barack Obama picked him as his running mate.

Yet in the current crisis over Biden’s age and health, the very things that have previously brought Biden strength could also bring about his downfall.

It’s common knowledge that he will only really listen to family members and a few aides he’s known for decades, but as he ages that bubble has become increasingly insular.

His long-standing belief that he’s been underestimated and mocked by the media means he’s even less likely to listen to outside voices.

Moreover, Biden’s lifelong image as someone who always bounces back means he may not be able to envisage a graceful exit this time around.

Franklin Foer, author of a book on the early Biden presidency, wrote recently in The Atlantic magazine that “humiliation — and its transcendence — is Biden’s origin story.”

“Right now it is his psychological prison, a mental habit that might doom American democracy.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally at Trump National Doral Miami, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Doral, Florida.
| Photo Credit: AP

Donald Trump, the former U.S. president and presumptive presidential nominee of the Republican Party, has attacked Vice President Kamala Harris, raising questions on her competence and describing her as an “insurance policy” for incumbent President Joe Biden.

His attack against Ms. Harris, who is of Indian and African heritage, came amid chatter in the Democratic Party about whether President Biden should remain the nominee in the November 5 presidential election.

Mr. Biden, 81, has faced calls from some Democrats to step aside as the nominee following his disastrous performance during a June 27 debate with Mr. Trump in which he struggled to complete sentences or land any significant blows against his opponent.

“Whatever else can be said about crooked Joe Biden, you have to give him credit for one brilliant decision, probably the smartest decision he ever made. He picked Kamala Harris as his vice president. No, it was brilliant. Because it was an insurance policy. Maybe the best insurance policy I’ve ever seen,” Mr. Trump, 78, told his supporters in Florida.

“If Joe had picked someone even halfway competent, they would have bounced him from office years ago, but they can’t because she’s gotta be their second choice,” he said as he repeatedly mispronounced her name.

Mr. Trump said as Vice President, Ms. Harris was given two very important tasks – border security and to deter Russia from attacking Ukraine.

“First, she was put in charge of the U.S. border security. She never showed up. She’s never gone. She never went there once. And the border is the worst border in the history of the world,” he alleged.

“We have the best border in history because she has the worst border in the history of the world. Then, she was sent to Europe to deter Russia from attacking Ukraine. How did that work out? Not too good. Both times, the result was a deadly failure. Since Kamala was made border czar, the Biden-Harris administration has lost track of an estimated 150,000 children, many of whom have undoubtedly been raped, trafficked, killed, or horribly abused,” Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Trump accused Ms. Harris, 59, of being a socialist.

“I don’t think Kamala Harris’ California socialism is going to go down well with the people of Doral, the people of Miami, or the people of Florida. Because in Florida, we don’t like socialism. We want our freedom, right? We want our freedom,” he said.

“Joe, Kamala and the entire Democrat establishment have been caught red-handed in the thick of the biggest scandal and the biggest coverup…it’s a cover-up. It’s the biggest cover-up in political history. As you know, they are all co-conspirators in the sinister plot to defraud the American public about the cognitive abilities of the man in the Oval Office,” alleged Mr. Trump.

Raleigh:

President Joe Biden said on Friday he intended to defeat Republican rival Donald Trump in the November presidential election, giving no sign he would consider dropping out of the race after a feeble debate performance that dismayed his fellow Democrats.

“I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious,” an ebullient Biden said at a rally one day after the head-to-head showdown with his Republican rival, which was widely viewed as a defeat for the 81-year-old president. 

“I don’t walk as easy as I used to, I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to, I don’t debate as well as I used to,” he said, as the crowd chanted “Four more years.”

“I would not be running again if I didn’t believe with all my heart and soul that I could do this job. The stakes are too high,”  Biden said.

Biden’s verbal stumbles and occasionally meandering responses in the debate heightened voter concerns that he might not be fit to serve another four-year term and prompted some of his fellow Democrats to wonder whether they could replace him as their candidate for the Nov. 5 U.S. election.

Campaign spokesperson Michael Tyler said there were no conversations taking place about that possibility. “We’d rather have one bad night than a candidate with a bad vision for where he wants to take the country,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.

The campaign held an “all hands on deck” meeting on Friday afternoon to reassure staffers that Biden was not dropping out of the race, according to two people familiar with the meeting.

Though Trump, 78, put forward a series of falsehoods throughout the debate, the focus afterward was squarely on Biden, especially among Democrats.

Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic Party leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, avoided answering directly when asked whether he still had faith in Biden’s candidacy.

“I support the ticket. I support the Senate Democratic majority. We’re going to do everything possible to take back the House in November. Thank you, everyone,” he told reporters.

Some other Democrats likewise demurred when asked if Biden should stay in the race. “That’s the president’s decision,” Democratic Senator Jack Reed told a local TV station in Rhode Island.

But several of the party’s most senior figures, including former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, said they were sticking with Biden.

“Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know. But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and somebody who only cares about himself,” former Democratic President Barack Obama wrote on X.

The New York Times editorial board, which endorsed Biden in 2020, called on him to drop out of the race to give the Democratic Party a better chance of beating Trump by picking another candidate. “The greatest public service Mr. Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for re-election,” the editorial said.

The Biden campaign said it raised $14 million on Thursday and Friday and posted its single best hour of fundraising immediately after the Thursday night debate. The Trump campaign said it raised $8 million on the night of the debate.

One possible bright spot for Biden: preliminary viewership data showed that only 48 million Americans watched the debate, far short of the 73 million who watched the candidates’ last face-off in 2020.

Biden, already the oldest American president in history, faced only token opposition during the party’s months-long nominating contest, and he has secured enough support to guarantee his spot as the Democratic nominee.

Trump likewise overcame his intra-party challengers early in the year, setting the stage for a long and bitter general election fight.

If Biden were to step aside, the party would have less than two months to pick another nominee at its national convention, which starts on Aug. 19 – a potentially messy process that could pit Kamala Harris, the nation’s first Black female vice president, against governors and other officeholders whose names have been floated as possible replacements. 

TRUMP TARGETS VIRGINIA

At an afternoon rally in Chesapeake, Virginia, Trump told supporters that he had a “big victory against a man looking to destroy our country.”

“Joe Biden’s problem is not his age,” Trump said. “It’s his competence.”

Trump advisers said they thought the debate would bolster their chances in Democratic-leaning states like Virginia, which has not backed a Republican presidential candidate since 2004.

Beforehand, some Trump supporters said they were struck by Biden’s poor performance. “I’m scared they are going to replace him and put up somebody more competitive,” said Mike Boatman, who said he had attended more than 90 Trump rallies.

Trump fundraisers said they were fielding enthusiastic calls from donors. “Anyone who raises money knows there’s a time to go to donors, and this is one of those watershed moments,” said Ed McMullen, who served as ambassador to Switzerland during Trump’s presidency.

Questions about Trump’s fitness for office have also arisen over his conviction last month in New York for covering up a hush money payment to a porn star, his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his chaotic term in office. 

He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, just days before his party convenes to formally nominate him. He still faces three other criminal indictments, though none appears likely to reach trial before November.

Biden’s shaky performance in the debate drew stunned global reactions on Friday, prompting public calls for him to step aside and likely leaving some of America’s closest allies steeling for Trump’s return.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Atlanta, United States:

Donald Trump launched another expletive-laced attack on Joe Biden as he addressed an influential gun group Saturday, while the incumbent president warned in the crucial swing state of Georgia that his “unhinged” challenger is a threat to US democracy.

Trump was in Dallas, Texas, where he received the endorsement of the politically powerful National Rifle Association. 

In a rambling speech to thousands of NRA members, Trump said Biden is “the worst president in the history of our country by far” and branded the Democrat as “full of bullshit.”

“You’re fired, get out of here Joe!” he called out to laughter from the pro-gun crowd, telling them Biden was coming for their firearms.

Trump, who is fending off multiple criminal indictments for his unprecedented attempt to overthrow the results of the 2020 election and was twice impeached as president, told the crowd Biden is “crooked” and a “threat to democracy.”

If Biden were Republican, he would be “given the electric chair,” Trump said.

Biden meanwhile was stumping in the key southern state of Georgia, which the Democrat narrowly won in 2020, as he sought support from African Americans — a crucial element in his coalition.

“Our democracy is really on the line,” Biden told supporters at Mary Mac’s Tea Room, a Black-owned restaurant in Atlanta.

“My opponent’s not a good loser. But he is a loser,” Biden said to applause.

“He’s not only obsessed with losing in 2020. He’s clearly unhinged,” Biden said, adding that something “snapped” in Trump after that election.

“Folks, Trump isn’t running to lead America. He’s running for revenge.”

“We cannot let this man become president. Our children’s future is at stake… We have to win this race, not for me but for America.”

On Sunday Biden was due to address students at Morehouse College, a renowned historically Black university.

Gun violence

Trump was campaigning in Texas during the weekend break for his criminal trial in New York. He also faces criminal charges in Washington, Georgia and Florida — indictments the former president routinely claims are part of a conspiracy by Biden to prevent his return to the White House.

The 150-year-old NRA, whose longtime CEO resigned in January amid a graft lawsuit, is closely aligned with the Republican Party in opposing firearm restrictions, despite routine mass killings in the United States and high rates of gun violence compared to peer nations.

Efforts at broad reforms to gun laws have been stymied for decades, with executive actions and state initiatives attacked in court by critics as infringing on the constitutional right to own a firearm, enshrined in the Second Amendment.

Trump previewed the tone of his speech on Friday, telling a fundraising dinner in Minnesota that gun owners must vote Republican because “the Democrats want to take their guns away — and they will take their guns away.”

Biden has repeatedly called for a long-lapsed ban on military style assault weapons to be reinstated, among other restrictions.

Last month, the White House moved to crack down on firearm sales at gun shows and online that evade US federal background checks, with several Republican-led states quickly suing to block the measure.

There were more than 40,000 gun-related deaths in the United States last year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Wildwood, United States:

Former US president Donald Trump raised eyebrows among his no-nonsense New Jersey crowd at a rally Saturday when he recited a 1963 soul song in its entirety and referenced a fictional cannibal as “great.”

In a meandering recitation of “The Snake” during a more than 90-minute speech, Trump used the Oscar Brown song to draw a parallel with “illegal immigration and how stupid it is what we’re doing right now.”

“We’re letting people come into our country that we will only be trouble,” said the Republican contender for president.

Trump has drawn on the song several times to highlight his anti-migrant stance, reportedly drawing objections from Brown’s family.

“A tenderhearted woman saw a poor, half-frozen snake,” Trump said, reciting — but not singing — the song to the crowd.

“But instead of saying thanks, the snake gave her a vicious bite.”

Trump, who will face Democratic President Joe Biden in November’s polls, is using increasingly violent rhetoric around the country’s migrant crisis.

At the same time, the lengthy recitation of “The Snake” drew a subdued reaction from the crowd of thousands gathered on a beach in Wildwood on the New Jersey shore.

Some looked on quizzically, while a man behind Trump shown on a big screen yawned, and a trickle of spectators made for the exits.

“Did everybody enjoy it? Don’t enjoy, you should be — you should be scared!” he said awkwardly, speaking off-the-cuff following his recitation from a crib sheet he had in his jacket pocket.

Just months ago, the Republican claimed that migrants were “poisoning the blood” of the United States, sparking a fierce backlash. 

Biden’s campaign accused him of imitating the language of Hitler. 

And during his first presidential campaign in the lead-up to the 2016 vote, Trump shocked observers with his language about “rapist” illegal migrants.

A rambling bit on cannibalism also drew attention on social media.

“The late, great Hannibal Lecter is a wonderful man,” Trump said, referencing the 1991 film “Silence of the Lambs.”

“He oftentimes would have a friend for dinner,” he said grinning, rehashing a well-worn joke about the infamous cannibal character before diving back into migration.

“But Hannibal Lecter. Congratulations, the late, great Hannibal Lecter. We have people that are being released into our country that we don’t want in our country.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)