Following Trump assassination attempt, Biden announces independent investigation and maximum security for RNC

Joe Biden spoke out on Sunday in the wake of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Pennsylvania. While the president had spoken out moments after the event, this time he acknowledged that they did indeed want to kill the Republican and announced a series of measures to strengthen his running mate's security over the coming months. 

Accompanied by Kamala Harris and Merrick Garland, the president again expressed regret about what happened in Butler, when Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, shot at the stage where Trump was speaking in front of his supporters. While the presidential candidate only received a wound to the right ear, the young man killed Corey Comperatore, a father and former firefighter and also wounded two others present. 

Biden began his speech, "Last night, I spoke with Donald Trump. I'm sincerely grateful that he's doing well and recovering. We had a short but good conversation. Jill and I are keeping him and his family in our prayers. We also extend our deepest condolences to the family of the victim who was killed. He was a father. He was protecting his family from the bullets are being fired. He lost his life. God love him," 

"As I said last night, there is no place in America for this kind of violence or any violence for that matter. An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for it as a nation. Everything. It's not who we are as a nation. It's not America. And we cannot allow this to happen," he continued, adding that  "unity is the most elusive goal of all, but nothing is important than that right now."

At the same time, the president stressed that the FBI is heading the independent investigation into the shooting, so he urged Americans not to jump to "hasty conclusions."

Biden said he also ordered the Secret Service to beef up Trump's security, providing all available resources and security measures to ensure his safety, as well as a security review of the Republican National Convention, which will take place July 15-18 in Wisconsin. 

"I've directed an independent review of the national security at yesterday’s rally to assess exactly what happened and we’ll share the results of that independent review to the American people as well," Biden declared.