Sen. Tom Cotton says Republican convention will be the 'safest place in America'

Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton said that he's grateful for Secret Service and law enforcement present yesterday after former president Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt on Saturday. He said the upcoming Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin will be secure as the GOP gathers to nominate the 45th president for a second term in office.

"I look forward to speaking on behalf of President Trump," Cotton said Sunday morning, on CBS' "Face the Nation."

"I encourage all the delegates and everyone else who is going to the convention to go there with confidence that it will be, frankly, maybe the safest place in America over the next week."

More: Trump wounded at rally in assassination attempt; gunman killed

Cotton said he spoke to Trump Sunday morning and expressed condolences as well to the family of the man who was killed by the shooter.

"I had a chance to speak to President Trump this morning," Cotton said. "He's doing well. He's in good spirits, he's very grateful for the prayers that Americans have sent to him and all of those who were affected at the rally."

Cotton sits on the Senate intelligence and Judiciary Committees. He said he thinks "it's important that we not jump to any conclusions about the shooter" and "let investigators fully develop this situation" before conclusions are drawn. "I think it's fair to say there was a lapse in the planning for the security at this event," he said and that there should be an investigation in how the shooter was able to get that close to Trump.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, posted on X Saturday night "violence has no place in our politics."

Cotton said that he agreed with the sentiment. "Unfortunately, we've seen a few instances of violence in recent years," he said, "robust strong campaigns, contrasting ideal between candidates and parties, of course, is essential to American democracy, but we settle those differences through political debates and through elections. We don't settle them through violence."

The shooter, identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Pennsylvanian Thomas Matthew Cooks, who was registered as a Republican and was in active voting status, according to the database service LexisNexis.

Victor Hagan is the Alabama Election Reporting Fellow for the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at vhagan@gannett.com or on X @TheVictorHagan. To support his work, subscribe to the Advertiser.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Sen. Tom Cotton says Republican convention will be the 'safest place in America'