(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — President Joe Biden on Sunday appealed for the country to "unite as one nation" after Saturday's apparent attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump and said he was ordering an independent security review of the lead-up to the attack.
Biden delivered brief remarks from the White House after receiving a briefing on the investigation in the Situation Room. He said he has directed the probe to be thorough and swift, and asked the country not to make assumptions about the perpetrator's motives or affiliations.
The president said he and First Lady Jill Biden were praying for the family of Corey Comperatore, who was killed at the rally.
"He was a father," Biden said. "He was protecting his family from the bullets that were being fired. God love him."
Biden said he and Trump had a "short but good conversation on Saturday evening, and he added that he was sincerely grateful that Trump was "doing well and recovering."
"There's no place in America for this kind of violence, or any violence for that matter," he said.
Following Saturday night's attack, Trump also called for unity and national resilience. He plans to attend this week's Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
In Illinois, politicians have expressed sorrow and outrage over the shooting.
The state's GOP Chairwoman-elect Kathy Salvi took to social media shortly after the shooting to say that "the Republicans of Illinois are united and stand with President Trump."
"We express our full support for President Trump and his family," Salvi wrote. "We appreciate the prompt response by law enforcement and the Secret Service."
Gov. J.B. Pritzker also shared his thoughts to social media and said he was praying for Trump's recovery.
"Violence is never the answer in our democracy," he said.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also wished the former president well and said violence was never acceptable.
Illinois Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin, as well as former Illinois Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, all expressed similar sentiments.
Biden plans to deliver extended remarks to the nation Sunday evening in a prime-time address from the Oval Office.
The Associated Press and WBBM's Terry Keshner contributed to this report.
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