President Joe Biden postponed his scheduled visit to Texas following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Biden originally planned to visit Austin on July 15 to speak at the LBJ Presidential Library to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act.
“Given the unfortunate events of the last 24 hours, we anticipated that the President’s schedule could change anytime,” said presidential historian Mark K. Updegrove, president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation.
“We are honored President Biden remains committed to joining us at the LBJ Library to mark the 60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act and we look forward to hosting him later this month,” he added.
Biden is still expected to visit Austin in July. The new date will reportedly be announced sometime this week.
The president addressed the nation Sunday afternoon in a speech from the Oval Office, one day after a 20-year-old shooter attempted to kill Trump at a rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
“Last night, I spoke with Donald Trump. I’m sincerely grateful that he’s doing well and he’s recovering. We had a short but good conversation,” said Biden.
“… There’s no place in America for this kind of violence or any violence for that matter,” he continued. “The assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation. Everything.”
Biden said the investigation is still in the early stages and urged the public not to make assumptions about the shooter’s motives or affiliations.
The alleged shooter has been identified by law enforcement as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a resident of Bethel Park, which is located roughly one hour away from where the rally was held.
Crooks shot and killed 50-year-old Corey Comperatore at the rally. Two other bystanders were injured. David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, were both shot and are in critical but stable condition.
The Secret Service shot and killed Crooks shortly after he fired several shots from a semiautomatic rifle, one of which clipped Trump’s ear.