Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (I-VT) condemned the attempted assassination on Donald Trump’s life Sunday and denounced all political violence.
“There is no place for political violence, including the disturbing incident we just witnessed in West Palm Beach. We must denounce it in the strongest possible terms, and I am relieved that the former President is safe,” Sanders said on social media Sunday.
Sanders expressed similar sentiments in July when the former president survived his first assassination attempt by Thomas Matthew Crooks.
“Political violence is absolutely unacceptable. I wish Donald Trump, and anyone else who may have been hurt, a speedy recovery,” Sanders said in July.
In August of this year, he referred to the former president as “dangerous.”
“Donald Trump is dangerous. He undermines our democracy. He destroys faith in our institutions. He lies. We must do everything we can to see that he is defeated,” Sanders said.
The alleged would-be Trump assassin on Sunday stood 300-500 yards away from the former president with a scoped rifle, authorities said.
“How far away was the president when this gentleman was caught,” reporters asked authorities during a press conference on Sunday.
“Probably between 300-500 yards,” said Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. “But with a rifle and a scope like that, that’s not a long distance.”
As many as four to six shots were fired by the Secret Service. It remains unknown if the would-be assailant returned fire.
As to why the would-be assassin was able to get that close to the former president despite a previous assassination attempt on him in June, the authorities said that the security perimeter could only be so wide due to him being a presidential candidate as opposed to a sitting president.
“You got to understand the golf course is surrounded by shrubbery,” said Bradshaw. “When somebody gets into the shrubbery, they’re pretty much out of sight. At this level [Trump] is at right now, he’s not the sitting president. If he was, we would have the entire golf course surrounded.”
The White House said in a statement, “The President and Vice President have been briefed about the security incident at the Trump International Golf Course, where former President Trump was golfing. They are relieved to know that he is safe. They will be kept regularly updated by their team.”
In a separate post on X, Vice President Kamala Harris said she had been briefed on the incident and added, “I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America.”
“I’m glad President Trump is safe. I spoke to him before the news was public and he was, amazingly, in good spirits. Still much we don’t know, but I’ll be hugging my kids extra tight tonight and saying a prayer of gratitude,” said Trump running-mate JD Vance.
“Gwen and I are glad to hear that Donald Trump is safe. Violence has no place in our country. It’s not who we are as a nation,” Kamala Harris’s running mate Tim Walz said Sunday.
