again, just how everything mattered in inches here. help close that bullet came to former president trump, and the sad horrific reality that someone lost his life, simply for coming to a political rally. two more victims in critical condition fighting for their lives. all the men and women and the children who were here that had to witness this. they came here to participate in democracy, or dissipate at a trump rally, and this is what they are left with. we thank you so much for joining our special coverage. i am tom lammas live in butler, pennsylvania. >> for those of you watching on nbc news now, meet the press is up next. and on msnbc, breaking news coverage continues right now. >> this is an nbc news special report. here's andrea mitchell.

>> a day, everyone. you are watching an nbc news vessel coverage of the assassination attempt on donald j trump. we now have an image of the alleged shooter. the fbi has identified him as 20-year-old pennsylvania resident thomas matthew crooks , a resident of bethel park, pennsylvania. about one hour from the site of the rally. he was shot at the scene by secret service snipers and is dead. this all played out tragically, horrifically yesterday at a trump campaign rally in butler, pennsylvania. officials say crooks opened fire, wounding donald trump while he was on stage. the fbi is calling this an assassination attempt. that rally site, now a crime scene. three members of the audience were also struck. one is dead and two others remain at a local hospital in critical condition. according to the local health network, here is the moment as it happened.

>> if you want to really see something sad, take a look at what happened --

>> as you can see, trump was immediately surrounded by secret service agents. they kept him down until they got were the alleged shooter had been taken out. they then followed strict protocol, doing an immediate body check. you can see them doing that. for any other wounds, any abdominal wounds. and rushed him offstage. as you can see, to a waiting armored suv. you can see the former president though in that iconic gesture, when he threw up his hand as he was getting into the

car. and you see him stepping up, even though he was surrounded by the secret service. he was then taken to a local medical facility. and in a truth social post made about 2.5 hours later, mr. trump wrote that a bullet, quote, pierced the upper part of my right ear, adding, i knew immediately that something was wrong. i immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. in a follow-up post this morning, he wrote that he is thankful for the thoughts and prayers, and that it was god alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening. we will fear not. and late last night, he was seen giving off his plane in new jersey. he is presumed to be at his bedminster home, because i saw a lot of extra security being taken and getting into position at that very large facility.

as well as state and local law enforcement and other federal agents these. officials say the shooter took an elevated position. the building, roughly 148 yards away from where trump was speaking. that's outside the perimeter where people are having their bags searched. three senior u.s. law enforcement officials tell nbc news the shooter was, as they say, outside that security perimeter that was set up for the rally. a lot of questions are going to be asked about that. three senior law enforcement officials also tell nbc news the shooter used a semi automatic rifle based on what was found at the scene. two senior law enforcement officials briefed tell nbc news the investigators are looking into whether the gun belonged to the shooter's father and was purchased legally. you can see the body of the alleged shooter on that after he was taken down.

secret service snipers sharpshooters took him out. an eyewitness says he saw the alleged shooter prior to the shooting and warned officials. >> we noticed the guy crawling -- you know, bear crawling up the roof of the building beside us. 50 feet away from us. we are standing there, we are pointing at the guy, crawling up the roof. he had a rifle. we could clearly see him with a rifle, absolutely. we are pointing at him. the police are down there running around on the ground. we are like, hey, there's a guy on the roof with a rifle. and the police were like -- like they didn't know what was going on. right here on the roof. we can see him from right here. he is crawling. and next thing you know, i'm like, why is trump still

speaking? why have they not pulled him off the stage? i'm standing there pointing at him for 2 or three minutes. the secret service is looking at us from the top of the barn. i'm pointing at that roof, just standing there like this. and next thing you know, five shots rang out. >> a lot of questions are going to be asked about that. joining us now, intelligence correspondent ken delaney and, shaq brewster, who is in bethel park, about an hour away, nbc's dr. burns, extraordinary coverage in butler, pennsylvania, at the rally is today when the shooting took lace. and at the white house, we have peter alexander. so can, bring us up to speed on the investigation. what we know at this hour ? why was that rooftop not cleared, and will there be a completely different posture taken about outdoor rallies, which are harder to secure then obviously indoor rallies where everyone

has their bags checked? >> all pertinent questions. we've actually learned a lot in the last 12 hours, although the biggest questions, including the ones you just articulated, remain unanswered. they've identified the deceased shooter as crooks, that's a suburb of pittsburgh about an hour from the rally site. oblique records show he was a registered republican, but they also show he gave $15 to a progressive political group. when not seeing much in the way public social media post from him. records appear to show that crooks graduated from bethel parks high school and receiving a $500 star award that year from the national math and science initiative. his parents have worked as professional counselors, according to public records. right now, they are hunting for any digital trail he may have left to determine whether he acted alone and how he became radicalized.

tom winter and jonathan dietz have learned that authorities are working through, purchased legally by his father. and a second line of inquiry into what experts are saying was a profound failure by the secret service here. how was a man with a rifle able to take up an elevated sniper position, 148 yards across an open field from a former president? they are questioning why they didn't have control of that rooftop. so far, the secret service is now commenting. >> there's not a lot of activity in bethel park. before his home had been entered, they had the bomb squad there. they were worried obviously about -traps . what have you seen since and what are people telling you? >> that large law enforcement presence still remains here at the scene where we know the

shooter's house to be, at least his residence. i will let you take a look at what we are seeing right here. the idea is you are not getting a clear look at exact where that house is. it's down the street off to the right. it was about 1:00 a.m. and you have the bomb squad tell me that they were planning to make entry into the suspect's home for this first time. they said they didn't know what they were going to ask to see inside, or what they were planning to achieve. we can assume that now has been done. in the past half hour or so, we saw another county bomb squad vehicle go away. we know there are multiple agencies here at the scene. you're talking about local police, state troopers that are hoping to secure this growing perimeter around the house. you have the atf that you saw here last night, is a federal agency, of course. just giving you a sense, we do know that residence who are still in the area closer to the home, they are able to stay in their home. they were there last night. it came out and talked to us,

including one person who said he was a classmate of folks who said that he last went to school with him. he was not a friend, he did not know him well, but he did know this person, and he was unmistakable to him when he saw his information go out on the news. i want you to listen to a little bit about what he told us about what he knew about the suspect. >> he was bullied almost every day. he would sit alone at lunch. he was just an outcast, and you know how kids are nowadays. they are going to see someone like that and they are going to target him because they think it's funny or whatever. that's the best way i can describe it. it is honestly kind of sad. i don't want to say this is what provoked it, but, you never know. yeah. i want to say he was a loner more because he was just -- he was quiet, but he was bullied.

he was bullied so much. so much. >> your member what they said to him at all, or called in? >> no. he was just made fun of for the way he got dressed, his appearance. >> you hear him reference there he was made fun of for the way he dressed. he explained that you would see the suspect in school regularly wearing hunting gear, that he would always have it on well after covid. he didn't know the details on what exactly was said to him, but that just gives you a little bit more of a picture of this profile that is being gathered right now. we do also know that we heard from the school district. they send their condolences to the families involved, but they also said they are fully cooperating with law enforcement, and that's where you can expect more of this information, more these hints that we are looking at to be shared with other members of the public.

and with their investigation. still an active scene at the house. multiple agencies. we continue to wait and learn any updates from the official site about what they are gathering and, if they are able to get any new information. >> you know if they found anything in terms of munitions or explosives in his home, and his car? >> they have not given us any update here at the home. there are some reports that there were some devices found in his car closer to the scene, closer to butler, which is about 35 miles away from where we are right now. but here at the scene, it has been very calm. there is no sense that there is an active explosive device here in our area. >> thank you so much. dosha burns, your extraordinary reporting has moved all of us. your composure, your interviews with those people in the cars, with the eyewitnesses.

first of all, i want to ask you how you are doing. >> andrea, thank you for asking that, and thank you so much for those kind words. we're just grateful that our team and our colleagues in the press are all safe. that was the first concern once we realized that this was something more than just fireworks, which is what we initially thought this might be. none of us were going into this day expecting anything like this. all of us, all the team here have covered dozens and dozens of trump rallies. we thought it was another day just like that. we got the biggest? of the day was whether or not he was going to announce his vice presidential pick. did not expect anything like this, andrea. >> dosha, if you could just describe what you saw and when you realized that this was initially an active shooter, what you saw, what you heard, and how people are reacting in the crowd, how you were

reacting? >> every time i told this story, i have to say that it kind of feels like i am talking about another person. it is still settling in for us what we experienced. let me walk you through those moments as i recall them. we were set up on the press riser in the press pen, which at a typical trump rally, it's in the middle of the venue. it is just behind the seated section of the audience. i had just finished taping a stand up in front of the camera. producer, bianca, and i were heading to the press risers there's to the ground level where the attendees were gathered. when we heard those sounds, the pop, pop, pop. initially, we thought it was fireworks. sometimes pyrotechnics are used for affected trump events. didn't think anything of it initially, and then we heard the screams, we heard the

former president stopped speaking. that's when it became clear to me that this wasn't a planned part of the show. bianca and i took cover behind some boxes of stage equipment, and we kept hearing those -- those shots. it felt like time expands in those moments. it felt like a long time. looking back over the video, it was only a few seconds, but it felt like a long time. we emerged from cover once we heard the cheers from the crowd. it was really a roller coaster of emotion that we experienced with all of the thousands of people that were there, andrea. people listening to music, people buying merchandise, eating, meeting up with friends and family, waiting for the former president is the, listening to him start the rally, he just a few minutes of him talking and things turning to confusion and chaos as people didn't know what was going on, to fear as people realized what was happening might actually be a dangerous and deadly situation, and then learning of the devastating tragedy and trying to grapple with all of that.

>> thank you, again, for your eyewitness accounts and for all of the people you interviewed. we are just hoping that you can take a breath and take care of yourself. thank you, dosha. and peter. peter alexander. the president last night condemned the attack, came out immediately from delaware, and then returned earlier than he had planned to to the white house. he has spoken with mr. trump directly last night. i don't know if you know anything more about that call, but right now, in the situation room, he was briefed this morning, and we know from the white house team that the attorney general was there in person. merrick garland, homeland security in charge of the secret service, and that's clearly going to be one of the issues. fbi director chris ray, national security advisor liz sherwood randall, who is the deputy from homeland.

all of those people in the white house counsel, the chief of staff. it sounds like he is taking in a full briefing. we initially reported that there is no foreign component to this from the early reporting. can you tell us any updates on all of that? >> let's start with what we know is happening right now. we are told by the white house that that briefing in the situation room is ongoing at this time. we were first confirmed that it was at 11:39 that it was underway, our time. it is now only 40 minutes later, and to the best of our understanding, it still continues. not just the president there, but the vice president. including fbi director christopher wray, and also notably, the director of the united states secret service in attendance right now. what remains to be seen is whether we will hear from the president again today on camera. we have reached out to the white house for any details on that. i would not be surprised if we

did hear from him again today. we haven't received any confirmation of that. as it relates to the conversation that took place, that phone call between president biden and former president trump, we know what happened after president biden address to the nation. he said he tried to reach out initially, but he was with his doctors at the time. the president also initially said that he was grateful that donald trump was safe and is doing well. we have very little information about the conversation it self, we are told by a white house official that the call was, quote, good, short, and respectful. that's about as much as we know from the two of them having spoken. a little bit more about that conversation, but i think it does go to this collective effort to cool the temperature in this moment right now. we heard earlier today, heard christian walker speaking to house speaker mike johnson expressing his desire for all sides to sort of dial down the

rhetoric. you heard from friend and ally bernie sanders saying as much. in the initial moments, they had drawn a little bit of scrutiny, including some of those from jd vance, a finalist and potential vp pick for donald trump, singling out the biden campaign saying that his rhetoric led directly to this assassination attempt. we will keep you posted on more from what we hear from the president today. >> peter alexander, thanks to you. let's talk about the alleged shooter and the gun. i semi automatic, that you will have to pull the trigger each time. this was thankfully not -- it didn't have a bump stock and was not an ak-47, or a lot more people would have died and massive injuries. also, very clearly from the angle from where the presidents head was turned, the former

president, it was just a centimeter and maybe an inch or so. it could've been much worse if he had not been turning toward that screen. >> that's right, andrea. his turning of his head to the right, just looking at where the wound was, had it been just a fraction of an inch even to the right, it would have struck him in the face. and i just can't imagine what would have happened. separately, in terms of the semi automatic rifle, it allows the shooter to shoot repetitively with each trigger pull. this is different from hunting rifles, which are open bolt, one round at a time, reloaded. so he was able to fire consecutively and continuously there for what is believed to be eight different shots. that also impacted the crowd. something that we haven't talked about at least so far was, other people were killed, others were wounded behind former president trump.

that rifle allows the shooter to do two things. give off many shots very quickly and also to reach at some length, and at 150 yards, that was something that could have reached the stage. >> what is arranged? i heard earlier today about 500 yards. >> it's 150 yards. about 150 yards to the stage. in the military, you are shooting in 4, which is equivalent to about an ar 15. soldiers are trying to shoot about 300 meters and usually max range is about 500 to 550 meters, 550 yards. but to accurately shoot, you could easily reach out to about twice that distance. so the rifle definitely has the ability to get from the shooting location to that stage. >> thank you so much for your expertise. frank, with your long time in the fbi and senior position,

you know that the fbi is leading this, but there's another reason the fbi is leading the investigation. the secret service will be part of that investigation and why that perimeter was not properly investigated. >> yeah, indeed. in addition to the obvious investigative work that is ongoing right now, we figure out what happened and why and where this came from, and motivation. there will be separate and distinct investigations as to the secret service and the plan here. we've got to add the local county and state police into this if we are going to discuss what failed. the secret service's own website uses the phrase zero fail to describe their mission. that is their language. today, i don't know any secret service agent out there that would tell you that this was a success yesterday. this was a failure. whether that means the decision as you just discussed with clint as to where to establish the perimeter, and to put that

perimeter outside where it is still within sniper range, easy sniper range, we need answers for that. if they delegated that building of the rooftop to the local police, as they do sometimes, there was someone that dropped the ball at the local level as well. so we don't know the answers, but there will be answers. we've already heard a bipartisan call in the house for hearings. they are going to be launching that, i'm sure, fairly quickly. we have dhs inspector general. remember, the secret service is not part of the department of justice. it's part of dhs. i predict they will likely lead that type of internal investigation. and then if there's an interesting history, you might ask, why don't they take this history? >> i hate to interrupt you, but we are going to a briefing in

pennsylvania. josh shapiro, accompanied by the head of the state police, colonel christopher paris. >> unfortunately last night, there was tragedy in their neighborhood. i just come from a briefing with the fbi and the pennsylvania state police. i am joined today by colonel christopher paris of the pennsylvania state police. law enforcement will have more to share throughout the day, but i'd like to make a few comments from the ongoing investigation. first and foremost, the assassination attempt on the former president, donald trump, last night was absolutely unacceptable and tragic. lori and i are grateful that the former president is safe, and according to him and his team, he is fine. it's also important to note that last night, three of our fellow pennsylvanians were shot, one fatally, two in

critical condition. i just spent time speaking to the families, and i want to offer my prayers and the prayers of all 13 million pennsylvanians for the two individuals were being treated at this time. we lost a fellow pennsylvanian last night. corey. i just spoke to cory's wife and corey's two daughters. corey was a girl dad. corey was a firefighter. corey went to church every sunday. corey loved his community. most especially, corey loved his family. corey was an avid supporter of the former president. so excited to be there last night with him in the community.

i asked corey's wife if it would be okay for me to share what we spoke. she said yes. she also asked that i share with all of you that corey died a hero. that corey dove on his family to protect them last night at this rally. corey was a very best of us. may his memory be a blessing. last night was shocking for this community. for this commonwealth. and i know for this country. political disagreements can never, ever be addressed through violence. disagreements are okay, but we need to use a peaceful political process to settle those differences. this is a moment for all leaders , with a responsibility to

speak and act with moral clarity. were all leaders need to take down the temperature and rise above the hateful rhetoric that exists, and search for a better, brighter future for this nation. it's work that i try to do every day here in the commonwealth of pennsylvania, and that's the work that falls to each and every american right now. so i ask that you join me in prayer for the two pennsylvanians who are in critical condition, and we continue to wish for a full and speedy recovery and pray for the former president. and to the family, who remains in our thoughts and prayers. they have some very challenging times ahead of them. they will have an empty seat at the dinner table for the rest of their lives. but we need to make sure that corey's memory is forever a blessing. here in pennsylvania, we will see to it that that is the case.

i'll be happy to take a few questions. >> governor, a lot of folks are starting to ask a tough question about whether that shooter access should have been secured. should it have been secured, and did pennsylvania state police have any responsibility? >> i'm not going to answer any questions regarding the ongoing invest nation. i trust that the fbi and the state police will keep you posted throughout the day and the days ahead as to their investigation. >> there was a concerning items that the police have found in the suspect vehicle. do you have any update on those, and are you confident at this point the threat is over? that he acted alone, and that the public is in fact safe? >> law enforcement will update you on the status of their investigation throughout the day. ut the day. >> i have not spoken directly to the former president. i have wished him well.

multiple times last evening, two statements, lori and i, the people of pennsylvania i know were praying for him. and again, according to his team, it seems as though he will be fine. obviously, relatively speaking. i know we are glad to see that violence is never acceptable. i should also let you know that i did speak to president biden. he called me last night to make sure that here in the commonwealth, we had all the resources we needed. i assured him that we did. at the time, he had yet to speak to president trump. i think they connected later in the evening, and he wanted me to know that he was trying to reach out to the former president. i think that that was the honorable and right thing to do and i'm glad that president biden did that. we are working in concert with our federal partners. >> governor, have you talked to the families of those who were critically injured?

>> i spoke to the family of one of them, and the other left a detailed message. i'm not going to get into their status. that will be shared by pennsylvania state police and with the family later today. >> i just missed the last part of what she said. >> what is your message to people who live here? >> i have directed flags be flown at half staff in corey's memory, and the chief of staff is working through that process. my message to all pennsylvanians, my message to all americans, is to be firm in your beliefs. to believe what you believe, to advocate for what you believe. and to be engaged in the

political and civic process. but to always do so peacefully. to remember that while we may be democrats or republicans, above all else, we are americans. and if you look at the story of this great nation over the last 248 years, a nation that was born right here in pennsylvania, there's been ordinary americans at every single step of the way, rising up, seeking justice, advocating for change, doing so peacefully. and those who have advocated for such change peacefully may be the ones to bring that about. you have to remember that even in these times, where there are real divisions, that we have to address those divisions through engagement in the political and civic process and in a peaceful manner. it is incumbent upon all political leaders of all parties, and it is incumbent upon the public. i will tell you that notwithstanding the tragedy that we saw last night here in

butler, the awful tragedy, that every day, when i'm around pennsylvania, i see the very best of pennsylvania. people who do have passion, but who engage in a peaceful manner, and who love their neighbors, and who engage with people and their communities, even those that they might have differences with. we need to learn from our history of this commonwealth and this country, and we need to bring our better angels forward and carry that forward. i will take one more. >> can you expand on the situation? was he standing behind the president? he dove in front of family, is there any detail? >> his wife shared that he dove on his family to protect them. thank you all very much. >> governor josh shapiro and democrat of pennsylvania, briefing and speaking about the

one dead in pennsylvania, that he had spoken to his wife, he was a firefighter and a hero, and that she wanted people to know that he died a hero, throwing his body on top of his family to save them. he was a passionate trump supporter, he was very happy to be at the rally. when he was asked whether that rooftop should've been secured by local police, not by the secret service, he said he was not going to go into any details about the investigation, but said that there are political differences, people have different beliefs, they should pursue those beliefs, but to do it peacefully. former cia director john brennan, who is an nbc news national security and intelligence analyst, and also served as the fifth u.s. homeland security adviser under president obama before he was cia director. frank, i would ask you to continue your thoughts about the rooftop, the outside perimeter, and the outside

rally, an outdoor rally, having to be better secured and whether this will change events in this campaign and others going forward, just as the jfk assassination and the attempted test assassination of ronald reagan changed the way the news media and the secret service operated. i just want to add, the secret service, to my eye, when i watch them and less threatening situations as well as the reagan assassination, which we were all covering at the time in 1981, they were textbook in the way they surrounded him. his detail was textbook, as well as the snipers and the others who surrounded and checked the crowd out while that was still an active shooter situation. the question is, those who did the advance -- the teams ago and anytime he president is traveling. >> first, i have great respect

for my colleagues at secret service. i've always been impressed with their training and their tactics. it looked textbook to me with regards to that after the shot timing, but that will be included, by the way, in a thorough investigation. because there was a moment there were the president, former president, decided to pop his head up and raised his fist. quite frankly, if there was a second shooter, that would've been a very asked post moment. there was also a moment where it appeared that mr. trump wanted issues. his shoes should not be even a thought in anybody's mind, no should he be popping up and protecting his fist. with regard to the perimeter, look. if we are talking about finite resources in the secret service, people think it is his vast organization. it's about 3000 agents last time i looked. it's not much. and that means they rely a lot on local and state law enforcement when they have events outside of washington. and so it is very possible --

again, we don't know the details -- they may have said to the state police or county police, you got that building, you got that? they may have rehearsed that, all of your personnel are going to be assigned to that building. but something fell down here, and that can't happen again. the rnc's house starting on monday. we have to have a new revised, more secure plan for the rns the. the designated free-speech areas are very close to the venue itself. is a parade route around the block there. don't forget, wisconsin law says you can't tell anybody that they can't carry in wisconsin. and that includes a soft security zone, which is outside of the venue site. that has got to be reconsidered as well. >> let me bring in john brennan, because john brennan, before you were security director, you are homeland adviser in the white house. you are the one who would've been in the situation room with the president, who is getting a briefing now and is going to be speaking around 1:30, we are

told, to the american people. in that role, as well as your role in analyzing foreign threats. talk to me about the event last night, and where you think they did miss. and i think what frank just said, i was struck last night when i saw the former president -- his head was clearly exposed as he was getting into the van where he popped up in fist pump, which is an extraordinary figure, and something -- it is very hard to protect someone when you're surrounding them and all of a sudden, a large person jumps up and fist bumps. you can understand why it happened, but again, he was asked post. >> something clearly went wrong that allowed this assassin to attempt to get on former president trump. i think that's where there's going to be intense focus and investigation. these outdoor events are challenging to secure, unlike an indoor event, were you control who has access to it, and it's a smaller space. these

outdoor events, there's great distance where someone can carry out an attack. there's the inner security ring, where individuals are going to be checked for handguns orcs looses or other types of things. but then there's the outer security perimeter. as noted, and they are 15 or assault rifle has a maximum range between 500 and 600 yards, and this individual was well within that range. so why this rooftop was not secured, either by the secret service or by the local police and security organizations, is very unclear. and in the aftermath of that shooting, in terms of how donald trump was removed from that stage, i think they are going to be looking at that as well. again, i think there's going to be a redoubling of the efforts that are already quite intense as far as trying to protect the protecting. and let's not forget, donald trump is not just the candidate, but he's a protecting life active being

the former president. i think that is probably going to be increased. the measures taken, especially if these outdoor events, where the protecting moves to and from the stage. if you're standing at the podium for an extended period of time, to me, that presents a static target that, again, if somebody has been able to take up a position that can be within range of an assault weapon, they are vulnerable to an attack. >> john brennan, should they change the posture at the rnc? already it was something similar to a nato meeting. what more do they need to do? do they need to expand the protected area and exclude the free speech area? >> again, i think it's indoors, the convention, so it provides an additional measure of control. but i do think that the rnc will work very closely with the secret service, as well as with the fbi and local officials to better secure the area out side

and make sure that individuals will not be able to carry out some type of attack as people go in and out of the convention center. so i expect that there's going to be significantly enhanced security measures, not just in terms of the procedures they go through, and also in terms of how much area around the convention center is going to be secured. >> i have to let you go, but just very briefly, are you confident so far, as far as what we know, that there's no foreign involvement in this? this is a domestic incident. we don't know all the facts about that. but it seems to be that this is a problem with america, not a problem involving our borders. >> it doesn't seem that there's any sort of foreign terrorism. is a young individual, 20 years old. it doesn't seem to be any type of terrorist organization involved. the latest reports we are

hearing is that he seemed to be a loner and heist. he was extensively bullied. the fact that we are a country of 330 million individuals, it's expected that there can be some disturbed individuals who will take matters into their own hands and use violence. it also, i think it just underscores that these assault weapons, the semi automatic weapons, are used in so many instances. this is a very high- profile one that needs to be taken seriously, but there are so many that have in fact taken place in our schools and communities and others. i do think they also need to take a look at what they need to do to protect disturbed individuals like this individual apparently was, from getting control of weapons like this. >> this is an area where guns are a very important part of the culture. the very first campaign i covered in 1968 as a pennsylvania reporter, or a sitting u.s. senator, a democrat, was defeated on the gun issue. thank you to both of you.

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afternoon, the naming of the new vice president, a choice the donald trump still is not announced. mr. trump posted on his social media site that is looking forward to speaking in milwaukee , but yesterday's events will mean a heightened security environment as we have just been discussing. that all kicks off tomorrow. joining us now, ron hilliard. yvonne, so many emotions must be going through your brain right now, having covered donald trump for so long. both in previous campaigns and now. so how is the situation in milwaukee changing? i want to talk to you about those vice presidential choices, because i now has to happen very quickly. >> right. a lot is happening, and it's happening with now about 24 hours until the republican national convention gathers here at this arena in downtown milwaukee tomorrow.

you mentioned the rollcall vote will be taking place or scheduled to take place tomorrow afternoon. all of the thousand delegates there already here. i'm told by some that they still have some more informal meetings that they are taking part in here today, but there is a potential -- the vice presidential running mate has not been announced by donald trump. i talked to a long time rnc rules committee member that told me that they could put off the rollcall vote for the vp all the way up until wednesday, because it is the running mates prime time speech on wednesday night is when we expect that individual to the stage. they could delay this donald trump so chose to do so under these circumstances. there is a lot taking place. this is a movement here that has swelled, and it is anger and anxiety, and i think yesterday's attack on the former president and presumptive republican nominee only intensifies that. i was talking to one delegate

that says this only energizes the understanding for those who support donald trump around the country that they need to get out and vote just 114 days from now. >> von hilliard in milwaukee. thank you. and i think you pointed out that if donald trump wants them to change the rule and delay that announcement, that is something that he could certainly do. the rules committee can adjust to his wishes right now, especially right now. thanks, von. and we will be right back. bac. have you ever considered getting a walk-in tub? well, look no further! safe step's best offer, just got better!

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she is a homeland security adviser for the white house. she has the job the john brennan used to have. next to her is merrick garland, the attorney general. on the left side of your screen, with gray hair and his chin in his hand, that is a white house chief of. all of those people briefing the president today on the horror of what happened last night in pennsylvania. in light of yesterday shooting in pennsylvania, we are also reminded of another recent act of political violence. january 8, 2011, arizona congresswoman gabby giffords was attending a constituent event northwest of tucson. a man ran up to the crowd, he opened fire with a 33 round magazine. he shot 19 people, including congresswoman giffords. six peoples died. and is credited with helping save the congresswoman's life. following a very long recovery, gabby giffords resign from

congress the following year. she went on to be an advocate for anti-gun violence and so that her firm intern. hernandez went on to serve as a representative from 2017 to 2023 and still fights for gun safety to this day. joining us now is daniel hernandez junior prime, former democratic state representative in arizona, and a hero for congresswoman gabby giffords. and certainly, mark kelly, the retired astronaut and military veteran, who also is now a senator and gabby giffords husband. your former boss posted on x last night, daniel, that political violence is terrifying. i know. i'm hoping all those affected today in my heart. clinical violence is un- american and it is never acceptable. never. and i can hear her voice, i

have heard her so many times, and her heroism, and yours. so just what was your reaction last night when you saw a really a very close call for the former president? >> to you so much, andrea. i hate to be back on for yet another shooting. but we have a uniquely american problem or gun violence is something that happens all too regularly. the newer problem we are seeing is both a violence -- when i saw the video what was happening with president trump in pennsylvania, it immediately brought me back 13 years ago to tucson. i could smell smoke, i could hear the chaos and the voices. it immediately brought me back to 13 years ago. here is the reality. we are seeing a situation where politics has gotten so toxic, but it's not just about going after ideas. it's about destroying their ideas. we see this ratcheting up

constantly. i wrote an op-ed on friday before this even happened condemning the violence and the threats of guile and again start workers in arizona. political violence has no place in our american politics, and yet a day later, we saw an attempted assassination against former president trump. i'm so sad for the person who was murdered yesterday and those who were injured and those who will be traumatized for the rest of their life. it's been 13 years for me and i can still vividly remember what happens every time there is a shooting. it brings me back immediately to what happened january 8th. >> we know that the suffering of gabby giffords continues to this day, though she has made such a heroic recovery. at the top of the hour, we will continue to bring you the veriest latest attempt. president biden is expected to give remarks within the hour. we know he spoke with mr. trump

last night. more of this after a very quick break. stay with us. stay with us. (knock on the door) are you using all the old spice? oops. ♪ (old spice mnemonic) ♪ sometimes jonah wrestles with falling asleep... ...so he takes zzzquil. the world's #1 sleep aid brand. and wakes up feeling like himself. get the rest to be your best with non-habit forming zzzquil. ♪ ♪

>> this is an nbc news special report. here is andrea mitchell. >> you are watching nbc news special coverage of the assassination attempt on donald trump. this hour, president biden is set to deliver remarks from the

roosevelt room of the white house. biden and vice president kamala harris receiving an updated homeland security and law enforcement briefing in the situation room. you can see the picture there. the white house tweeted this picture out. president biden spoke with mr. trump last night, and they characterized that call as a, quote, good, short, and respectful conversation. the fbi has identified the alleged shooter as 20-year-old thomas matthew crooks, a resident of bethel park, pennsylvania, it is about one hour from the site of the rally. he was shot at the scene and killed by the service snipers. this all played out yesterday in butler, pennsylvania. officials say the crooks opened fire about five or six minutes after mr. trump got on stage to speak, wounding him while he was on stage. the fbi is calling this an assassination attempt. here's the moment as it happened.