The White House said President Joe Biden had a "cordial" phone call with former President Donald Trump on Monday, one day after a second apparent attempt on Trump's life. In a statement, Trump said, "We had a very nice call. It was about Secret Service protection."
In an email, a White House official said, "President Biden just spoke with former President Trump, and conveyed his relief that he is safe. The two shared a cordial conversation and former President Trump expressed his thanks for the call."
Earlier Monday, Biden told reporters the Secret Service needed more help, saying, "I think the Congress should respond to their needs, if they, in fact, need more Service people. So, that's what we're going to be talking about."
Authorities on Monday charged 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh with two federal gun crimes after he allegedly pushed the muzzle of a rifle through the fence of Trump's West Palm Beach, Florida golf course while the former president was playing. The FBI said in a news conference it was investigating the incident as an assassination attempt.
In an interview Monday, Trump blamed "rhetoric" from Biden and Trump's opponent Vice President Kamala Harris for provoking violence against him.
Trump told Fox Digital, "Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country — both from the inside and out."
Sunday's assassination attempt came almost exactly two months after a gunman opened fire at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing the former president's ear, killing a firefighter, and injuring two others.
Kate McManus ✉
Kate McManus is a New Jersey-based Newsmax writer who's spent more than two decades as a journalist.
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