Republic Party members say President Joe Biden and the Democrats did not do enough while Secret Service rejects rumours of denying extra cover.
The assassination attempt on leading US presidential election candidate Donald Trump has given the contest an entirely new focus, with members of his Republican Party accusing President Joe Biden and the Democrats of inciting hatred or not doing enough to prevent the attack.
The calculus over who was likely to prevail in November had already been scrambled owing to doubts among Democrats about Biden’s cognitive ability and his insistence on staying in the race.
With rancour-tinged demands for investigations emerging not long after the dust had settled in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Trump was speaking at a campaign rally, Biden will now be under more pressure, and, analysts say, America will look more politically unstable than ever.
The gunman who left Trump bleeding and killed one person was identified by the FBI in the early hours of Sunday as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old from a suburb of Pittsburgh – a little more than an hour’s drive from Butler. But officials released no additional information about him.
Expressions of sympathy for Trump poured in from around the world, including from Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Hours after the shooting, Trump stepped off his plane in New Jersey early on Sunday morning in his first public appearance after he was shot in the ear.
He said on his Truth Social social media platform that he was looking forward to speaking from Wisconsin, where the three-day Republican National Convention will be held, starting on Monday.
“In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand united and show our true character as Americans, remaining strong and determined,” he wrote.
However, angry messaging from many within his party suggested that such comity might be short lived.
Even before the authorities had given the identity of the shooter, demands were pouring in from Republicans for an immediate investigation.
The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability said late on Saturday that it would investigate the attempted assassination. Representative James Comer, a Kentucky Republican and chairman of the panel, asked Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the Secret Service, to testify at a hearing on July 22.
