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Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump, world news, indian expressRepublican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump. (Reuters)

Former President Donald Trump Monday blamed remarks made by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the recent assassination attempts on his life.

With just 50 days remaining until the presidential election and early voting already underway in some areas, the campaign has proven to be one of the most turbulent in American history. The most recent incident took place on Sunday in Florida, where a man — identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, hiding in bushes roughly 400-500 yards from Trump, was confronted by Secret Service agents. Agents opened fire when they spotted the gunman and fired four to five rounds of ammunition, reports said. Sheriff Bradshaw stated that the suspect dropped the rifle and fled in a vehicle, abandoning the weapon along with two knapsacks, a scope used for aiming a weapon and a GoPro camera.


This is the second attempt after an assassination was attempted in July during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in which a bullet grazed his ear.

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Trump praised the Secret Service for protecting him but did not hold back from blaming his opponents for the attack. “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,” Trump told Fox News.

“These are people that want to destroy our country… It is called the enemy from within. They are the real threat. They do it with a combination of rhetoric and lawsuits they wrap me up in. These are the things that dangerous fools, like the shooter, listen to – that is the rhetoric they listen to, and the same with the first one,” Trump said.

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Trump also called for national unity, saying in a social media post that “it is more important than ever that we stand United.”

Meanwhile, Trump’s critics have long accused him of stoking division with his inflammatory rhetoric.

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President Joe Biden, on his part, sought to focus on condemning political violence during an address in Philadelphia. “It solves nothing. It just tears the country apart. We must do everything we can to prevent it and never give it any oxygen,” Biden said, calling for efforts to prevent further incidents. The president also noted that the Secret Service was investigating the Florida shooting to assess potential security improvements for Trump’s protection. According to the White House, Biden called Trump on Monday to express relief over his safety, in what was described as a cordial conversation.

Political observers remain unsure how Sunday’s shooting will impact the race. The United States elections are due to be held on November 5.

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