Biden says Secret Service 'needs more help' after apparent Trump assassination attempt
President Joe Biden said on Monday the Secret Service "needs more help" as he briefly addressed the apparent assassination attempt against Donald Trump while departing the White House.
Speaking to reporters before boarding Marine One, Biden said, "Thank God the president's OK."
"One thing I want to make clear, the [Secret] Service needs more help and I think the Congress should respond to their needs, if in fact they need more servicemen," Biden added. He said he believed the agency may need more personnel.
Later on Monday, while speaking at the 2024 National HBCU Week Conference in Philadelphia, Biden commended the Secret Service for what he called their "expert handling" of the situation.
"The acting head of the Secret Service is in Florida today assessing what happened and determining whether any further adjustments need to be made to ensure the safety of our former president," Biden said.
The president went on to say political violence has "no place" in America.
"I've always condemned political violence, and I always will," Biden said. "In America, we resolve our differences peacefully at the ballot box, not at the end of a gun. America suffered too many times the tragedy of an assassin's bullet. It solves nothing. It just tears the country apart. We must do everything we can to prevent it and never give it any oxygen."
Late Monday afternoon, Biden spoke with Trump and "conveyed his relief that he is safe," according to White House senior deputy press secretary Emilie Simons. "The two shared a cordial conversation and former President Trump expressed his thanks for the call."
Trump said a short time later he had a "very nice" conversation with Biden, according to a statement from his campaign. "We had a very nice call. It was about Secret Service protection," he said.
Secret Service agents fired at a man armed with an SKS rifle on or near the Trump International golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday. The FBI said it was investigating the matter as a possible assassination attempt. The incident comes just two months after the former president was shot in the ear at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Trump thanked law enforcement, including the Secret Service, for keeping him safe during the incident.
The Secret Service came under intense scrutiny after Trump was shot in mid-July. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned amid the criticism of the agency's failure to protect Trump, saying she took full responsibility for the "unacceptable" security lapse.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, during an appearance on "Fox & Friends" on Monday, said the agency's response on Sunday was an improvement from the rally shooting but called for additional resources to protect Trump in the final stretch of the 2024 campaign.
Johnson, who was en route to meet with Trump when the incident unfolded Sunday, said he was quickly briefed on the phone by Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe.
"President Trump needs the most coverage of anyone," Johnson said. "He's the most attacked, he's the most threatened, even even probably more than when he was in the Oval Office. So we are demanding, in the House, that he have every asset available, and we will make more available if necessary. I don't think it's a funding issue. I think it's a manpower allocation."
Johnson also noted there are ongoing investigations and reports on the security lapse in Butler and based on those findings, "Congress will act swiftly. We need accountability and we must demand that this job is being done."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, in remarks on the Senate floor on Monday, said that "if the Secret Service is in need of more resources, then we are prepared to providing it for them, possibly in the upcoming funding agreement."
ABC News' Oren Oppenheim, Allison Pecorin and Justin Gomez contributed to this report.
