Biden says political violence is ‘sick’ after Trump rally shooting

President Joe Biden condemned political violence as "sick" during an impromptu address to the nation after former President Donald Trump survived a shooting during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania .

From a police station in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where Biden was spending the weekend, the president told the public he had tried to reach his Republican opponent by telephone, but so far the pair had not connected. The White House later confirmed that the two men had spoken.

"There is no place in America for this kind of violence," Biden said Saturday. "It's sick. It's sick. It is one of the reasons we have to unite this country. We cannot allow for this to be happening. We cannot be like this. We cannot condone this."

When asked whether he believed it was an assassination attempt, Biden told reporters traveling with him that he had "an opinion but I don’t have any facts.”

In an earlier statement, Biden repeated that he was "grateful to hear" that Trump is "safe and doing well."

"I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information," he wrote. "Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety. There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it."

The Biden campaign also announced Saturday that it is "pausing all outbound communications and working to pull down our television ads as quickly as possible.”

Biden was in a church service when the gunshots rang out at the Trump event six hours away, departing at 6:19 p.m.

Roughly 30 minutes later, the White House told reporters Biden had received an "initial briefing" on the incident, with a second one provided at 7:10 p.m. by Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and Liz Sherwood-Randall, Biden's White House homeland security adviser. A third iteration included Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

The White House circulated Biden's statement at 7:52 p.m. before his address to nation at 8:13 p.m. and return to Washington, D.C. in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Vice President Kamala Harris , who was in Philadelphia earlier Saturday, was similarly briefed, according to her staff.

"I have been briefed on the shooting at former President Trump’s event in Pennsylvania," Harris wrote in her own statement. "Doug and I are relieved that he is not seriously injured. We are praying for him, his family, and all those who have been injured and impacted by this senseless shooting.

"We are grateful to the United States Secret Service, first responders, and local authorities for their immediate action," she said. "Violence such as this has no place in our nation. We must all condemn this abhorrent act and do our part to ensure that it does not lead to more violence."

The Trump campaign described the former president as doing "fine" after being checked out at "a local medical facility."

"President Trump thanks law enforcement and first responders for their quick action during this heinous act," Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told reporters. "More details will follow."

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The Secret Service "implemented protective measures" around Trump and the former president is "safe," per the agency.

"This is now an active Secret Service investigation and further information will be released when available," Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi wrote on a statement.