Tim Walz ‘grateful’ Trump is safe after apparent assassination attempt, he says in Georgia

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, speaking in Georgia Tuesday, condemned the apparent assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump that occurred over the weekend.

Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate in her bid for the presidency, was in Macon to kick off a series of campaign events in Georgia and North Carolina Tuesday when he addressed the incident, calling it a “horrific situation.”

Walz said he was “thankful to Secret Service ... law enforcement, and grateful that the president is safe.”

“I think all of us know we don’t solve our differences in this country with violence,” Walz said. “We condemn it in all its forms. We solve our differences at the ballot box. That’s how we get this done.”

Local and federal law enforcement officials say a suspect was waiting to shoot Trump with an assault rifle while the former president played golf in Florida Sunday. Officers fired shots at the man, who has been detained.

Since the incident, Trump has taken to TV to criticize Democrats and accuse them of using “highly inflammatory language” which he said encouraged the suspect.

“He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News. “Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country — both from the inside and out.”

The suspect faces two gun charges, according to federal officials.

This story was originally published September 17, 2024 at 11:33 AM with the headline "Tim Walz ‘grateful’ Trump is safe after apparent assassination attempt, he says in Georgia."