Washington, July 14: A day after a failed assassination attempt, former US President Donald Trump said that he will remain “defiant” in the face of “wickedness”. “We will fear not but instead remain resilient in our faith and defiant in the face of wickedness,” Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social, a social media platform he launched after he was banished from X.
“I truly love our country and love you all and look forward to speaking to our great nation this week from Wisconsin,” the former President said. On Saturday, Trump was shot at an election rally in an assassination attempt just a day before the Republican Party is scheduled to begin its convention to formally declare him its nominee for the White House. The former President is recovering at his home in New Jersey, where he reached on Saturday from Butler, Pennsylvania. President Joe Biden, who called the former president after the shooting, said there is no place in the US for this kind of violence. “It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country. We cannot allow this to be happening. We cannot be like this,” the President said. The FBI has identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks (20) was killed by snipers of the US Secret Service, which protects the previous and incumbent US presidents and their immediate families. As per the media reports, Crooks was a registered Republican but had donated $15 to a liberal voter mobilisation group in 2021. “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 allow evil to win,” Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday morning.
His campaign leaders Chris Lacivita and Susie Wile wrote in a memo to staff: “Please do not comment publicly on the occurrence of today. We condemn all forms of violence, and will not tolerate dangerous rhetoric on social media.” Political violence in US politics has become a new threat. Trump’s supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, to stop a joint sitting of Congress from certifying Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election and the next president, in which several people, including police officers, were killed.