Kielda. I'm Chelsea Daniels and this is a breaking news episode of The Front Page, a daily podcast presented by the New Zealand TERRALD. Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump appears to have been shot at a rally in Pennsylvania. The rally was filmed at the time. Here's a clip of the moment as it happened.
If you want to really see something that said, take a look at what happened.
As you can hear from that clip, gunshots rang out in the middle of Trump's speech. The former president then touched his ear before being pulled to the ground by US Secret Service agents. For more on this, we'll turn now to Newstalk ZB reporter Blake. Bennie Blake, what more can you tell us about what happened next on that stage?
Well, as you can imagine, in those initial moments as the shots were being fired, there was almost a mass confusion among rally attendees as to what was actually happening. Immediately as President Trump was pulled down, screams began to echo from inside the event. Secret Service agents piling themselves on top of Trump in an effort to keep him safe. They stayed down for about thirty seconds, when some additional
shots were heard. They then got Trump on his feet, surrounded him, and began rushing him off the stage, although not without Trump first giving multiple fist bumps and appearing to shout fight the audience, who responded with cheers and repeated shouts of USA. Now. There was also clear sightings of blood from his right ear, which had dripped across his face as he was whisked into an unmarked vehicle and taken off site.
Was this an active shooter scenario? Are we aware of any further injuries or deaths?
Well? As you can imagine, Chelsea, There is still some confusion around those details, but I can confirm the Butley County District Attorney has stated a member of the audience has been killed, as well as the alleged gunman responsible. CBS News spoke with a man who was an emergency physician at the rally and treated the audience member. He said a man was shot in the head and was
jammed between the benches. At this stage, we still don't quite know those finer details on the alleged shooter and where those shots came from, but that is expected to be known in the near future as authorities begin a full investigation, with the Pennsylvania site now officially dubbed a crime scene.
What's the current state of Trump? Given he walked off stage with his fests raised, it doesn't appear that he's severely injured, right.
That's correct. The Secret Service has confirmed President Trump is safe and receiving medical attention under protective measures. A spokesperson has called this a heinous act, while Trump has thanked law enforcement and first responders for their quick action.
What have the US network's been saying about this attack so far?
All have been covering the incident and updates with back to back coverage. What's been really interesting is the immediate reflection on how this will impact the presidential campaign election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. One international correspondent, Gary o'donald was outside the rally when the shots were fired and has remained at the scene, and since he's already witnessed firsthand how incredibly divisive this incident is and will
continue to be. He's spoken on Trump supporters leaving the rallies screaming today's actions have started a war and he believes it will up end the election in ways that we cannot even imagine right now.
Will there have been a lot of calls to put political divisions aside. I guess that doesn't really seem likely now, given what you've just told me. A lot of people on social media seem to be dismissing this as a stunt already as well. Hey, yeah, I.
Think regarding political division, that's something that only time will be able to tell to a degree. What's been really clear, though, is the wide ranges and responses to the shooting on social media, ranging from thoughts and prayers for the president to conspiracy theories and what has already been labeled an assassination attempt. Some, as you say, outright dismissing the event as a stunt to drum up support for Trump, Will some of his supporters calling it a fail attempt at
insuring he can't become president once more. In terms of political response, that's been swift, with both sides of the spectrum immediately condemning violence against any presidential candidates, Republican Nippi Haley saying it's an act that should horrify every freedom loving American. Now, President Joe Biden says he's grateful to hear his political opponent is safe and doing well. He says. He and his wife Jill are praying for him and his family and for all of those who are at
the rally as they await further information. We're back here at DEM Prime Minister David Seymour says New Zealand's thoughts with Trump and the American people condemning political violence in all its forms.
Thanks for joining us, Blake. That said, for this episode of the Front Page. You can read more about today's stories and extensive news coverage at enzadherld dot co dot zed. The Front Page is produced by Ethan Sells with sound engineer Patty Fox. I'm Chelsea Daniel. Subscribe to The Front Page on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts, and tune in tomorrow for another look behind the headlines.