Former U.S. President Donald Trump emphasized the need for increased security personnel following the arrest of a suspect in an alleged assassination attempt targeting the Republican presidential candidate.
In an interview broadcast on the platform “X,” Trump revealed that he had informed President Joe Biden about his request for more security team members, according to CNN.
“President Biden was very kind. He called to check if I was okay. I told him that I need more people to protect me during the events I attend,” Trump explained.
Trump attributed the recent assassination attempt, which marks the second such incident, to the rhetoric of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. In a conversation with Fox News, he claimed that the suspect “believed in Biden and Harris’s speeches and acted accordingly,” adding that “their words are putting me at risk of being shot.”
In response, President Biden reiterated his condemnation of political violence. Speaking in Philadelphia on Monday, he stated, “I have always condemned political violence and will continue to do so. In America, we resolve our differences peacefully at the ballot box, not under the threat of a gun.”
The suspect, Ryan Wesley Roth, 58, who was arrested as part of the investigation into the alleged assassination attempt, has been charged with illegal possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Roth, an American supporter of Ukraine in its war with Russia, appeared in federal court in Florida on Sunday, where the charges were officially filed.
