of this. biden is here to calm our nerves and remind us that the united states has had worse times and we will get through it. >> that is a message we expect to hear from the president of the united states tonight. presidential historian doug h blinkly, you can come back after we hear from the president. so thank you for being with us now and we look forward to seeing you afterwards. i will be back at 9:00 p.m. eastern for continued coveragein of the attempted assassinationtt of former president trump. we join an nbc news special report with hallie jackson and peter alexander. president biden is about to address the nation on a dark weekend in america. one day after a gunman takes aim

at former president trump on the campaign trail. >> it went pop, pop, pop, and that's when trump went down. >> you notice the guy climbing up the roof 50 feet away from us. >> new questions about security and the gunman. who was he? the latest on an all out investigation. this is an nbc news special report. here's tom llamas and hallie jackson. >> good evening, i'm tom llamas reporting tonight from butler, pennsylvania where former president trump was wounded in an assassination attempt last night. >> i'm hallie jackson reporting from washington where any momenh president biden is expected to speak from the oval office. the t fbi believes the suspected shooter acted alone with an ar style rifle purchased. there are new questions on this

assassination could have happened. president biden saying there is no place for this kind of violence and sharing that he did speak briefly with the former president. the last oval office address was nine months ago when he spoke about the war in gaza. for president biden, this is a significant moment with the eyes of the nation now on him. we will go now to president biden in the oval office. >> i want to speak to you tonight about the need for us to lower the temperature in our politics, and to remember, when we disagree, we are not enemies, we are neighbors, we are friends, coworkers, citizens and most importantly, we are fellow americans. we must stand together. yesterday's shooting at donald trump's rally in pennsylvania calls on all of us to take a step back. take stock of where we are, how we go forward from here. thankfullyd former trump is not seriously injured. i spoke with him last night and he is doing well. jill and i keep him and his

family in our prayers. we send deepest condolences to the family of the man who was killed. cory was a husband, a volunteer firefighter, a hero, sheltering his family from the bullets. we should all hold his family and all those injured in our prayers. earlier today, i spoke about an ongoing investigation. we do not know the motive of the shooter yet. we don't know his opinions or affiliations. we don't know whether he had help or support or if he communicated with anyone else. law enforcement professionals as i speak are investigating those questions. tonight, i want to speak to what we do know. a former president was shot an american citizen killed while simply exercising his freedom to support the candidate of his choosing. we cannot, we must not go down this road in america. we have travelled before throughout our history. violence has never been the answer, whether it was member of

both parties of congress being shot or a violent mob attacking the capitol on january 6th or the brutal attack on the spouse of the speaker of the house nancy pelosi or information or intimidation on election officials or the kidnapping plot against a sitting government ori an attempted assassination on donald trump. there is no place in america for this type of violence, any violence ever, period, no exceptions. we can't allow the violence to be normalized. the political record of this country has gotten very heated. it is time to cool it down. we all have a responsibility to do that. yes, we have deeply felt strong disagreements. the stakes in this election are enormously high. i said it many times that the choice in this election is going to shape the future of america and the world for decades to come. i believe that with all my soul.

i know that millions of my fellow americans believe it as well. and some have a different viewa on the direction our country should take. disagreement is inevitable in an american democracy. it is part of human nature. politics musthu never be a battlefield and god forbid a killing field. i believe politics ought to be an arena for peaceful debate, to pursue justice, to make decisions guided by the declaration of independence and our constitution. we stand for an america, not of extremism and fury, but of decency and grace. all of us now face a time of testing as the election approaches. the higher the stakes the more fervent the passions become. this place is an added burden on each of us to make sure no matter how strong our convictions, we must never descend into violence. the republican convention will start tomorrow. in have no doubt they will criticize my record and offer

their own vision for this country. i will be travelling the country and making the case for my vision of the country. i will speak out for our democracy, stand up for our constitution and the rule of law, to call for action at the ballot box, no violence on our streets. that o is how democracy should work. we debate and disagree. we compare and contrast the character of the candidates, the records, the issues, the agenda for america. but in america, we resolve our differences at the ballot box. you know that's how we do it, at the ballot box, not with bullets. the power to change americano should always rest in the hands of the people, not in the hands of a would be assassin. the path forward through competing visions of the campaign should always be resolved peacefully. not through acts of violence. we are blessed to to live in the

greatest country of the world. i'm asking every american to recommit to make america -- think about it. what has made america soe special? everyone in america has been treated with dignity andig respect. hate must have no safe harbor. we needha to get out of our sils and where misinformation is rampant and foreign actors fan the flames of our division to shape the outcome consistent with their interests not ours. in america, unity is the most elusive of goals right now. nothing isof more important rigt now than standing together. we can do this. you know, from the beginning, our founders understood the power of passion. so they created a democracy that gave reason and balance to prevail over brute force. that's the america we must be, a

democracy made in good faith. where the rule of law is respected, the american democracy where deeseany and dignity and fair play are not quaint notions but living, breathing realities. we owe that to those who come before us, for those who gave their lives for this country. we owe that to ourselves, to our children and grandchildren. look, let's never lose sight of who weare. we are the united states of america. there is nothing, nothing beyono our capacity when we do it together. god bless you all and may god protect our troops. >> you have been listening to president biden with the plea to americans p to lower the temperature in p political rhetoric. the president stronglyic condemning political violence and violence of all stripes saying essentially in this country, we resolve ourco differences at the ballot box and not with bullets. he also nodded to the political

realities of the presidential campaign and the republican national convention set to begin this week in milwaukee. alexander is here in washington. peter, a critical moment here for president biden. >> hallie, that's right. the president making no time tonight making clear what his message is which is that all americans need to lower the temperature as we head into this campaign season, these final four months ahead of the election. i'm struck by a couple of things. one how central the topic of political violence has been to president biden. you remember it was happened in charlottesville in 2017 that was a motivating factor for his decision to run, what happened on january 6th that has driven a lot of the course of time in his office, his desire to protect democracy. one of the key things will be how he is able to deliver a forceful contrast on the campaign trail with former president trump. we counted at least 12 times where he has condemned political violence over the course of the

last several years. i'm struck by how the dominant story line in a political campaign can change overnight here. what was only a couple of days ago a conversation about president biden and his ability to serve another four years with many democrat factions speakingc out about being concerned on whether he should be at the top of the tick. this gives him a chance to rehabilitate his image asis president and try to demonstrate to american voters and to all-american viewers that he has what is the temperament and what it takes to serve as president for another four years. >> peter alexander in washington, thank you. our white house correspondent gabe gutierrez is also with us. president biden choosing this setting intentionally here. a solemn speech, solemn remarkse to the american people from the setting in the oval office. it is not something we see every day. that is for a reason. >> that's right. the stakes are incredibly high

here. president biden saying he spoke with former president trump last night and he characterized the conversation as short but good. we wait any initial comment from the president. the president did post a message of unite america, just before making his way to the republican national convention which begins tomorrow. in orthpost, theal former president said he considered delaying his trip to milwaukee by two days but he decided against it he said because he didn't want a potential assassin to force a change in the schedule. as you know, we are still waiting the former president to announce his vice presidential pick, potentially by tomorrow. hallie? >> gabe gutierrez, a busy week ahead after an extraordinary weekend in american history. i want to bring back in tom llamas from pennsylvania. you know on the ground there, the questions now around the secret service which was in charge of security at this rally

in butler, pennsylvania. and moving forward, the question on how this could happen against a presumptive nomnee and former president. >> it was so important for the president to address the nationn tonight because there are so many people that attended the rally behind me that are searching for answers. even though they may not hear the same politics as president biden, they want the tone, temperature, everything to come down a little. what they witnessed here, a death, two injuries, nearly a presidential assassination. it is all n too much for any american. we want to bring back what happened 24 hours ago. former president trump speaking underthe american flag in butler, pennsylvania. we are getting new video on how the assassination attempt played out and how the secret service reacted to determine how a lone gunman tried to kill president trump. >> tonight the fbi and secret service are trying to figure out

how a 20-year-old shooter was able to fire at least six rounds at former donald trump and why he did it. >> that's the most surprising thing to me. we have a former president herea and a guy was able to get 150 yards away, on a roof and able to take a shot. >> reporter: richard goldfinger is the district attorney for the butler county, pennsylvania where the shooting occurred. >> what goes through your head? >> hits shocking. >> reporter: merrick garland and chris wray said they are examinen the gunman pefs phone be. they have not figured out his motive or ideology. president biden says he wants answers fast. >> i'm instructed that this investigation be thorough and swift. and the investigators will have every resource they need to get

this done. >> reporter: the president expressed outrage at the shooting that also claimed the life of one man and left two others in critical condition. >> there is no place in america for this kind of violence or any violence for that matter. >> reporter: it was just last night that thousands gathered in rural pennsylvania, a place call butler. the maga world revving up to a boisterous rally with the presumptive republican nominee. >> this is a big crowd. >> reporter: the gop convention is just a day away. >> we have millions and millions in our country that shouldn't be here. >> reporter: on stage, donald trump launched into one of his h favorite subjects, immigration. and then 6:11 p.m. >> earthquake a look at what happened --. >> reporter: it seemed like i nothing at first, maybe a couple of fire crackers going off.

but trump grabbed his ear and dropped below the podium. it was law enforcement's worst fear. secret service agents huddled around the former president. trump blood streaks on his face punched his fist into the air as he was rushed into an armored vehicle. in there stands, shock and fear. >> at first, i didn't know it was fire crackers. there were six pops. it whent wap, wap, wap. >> in the bleachers behind us, someone got popped, someone got killed. >> the guy beside me suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was instantly killed. >> reporter: one spectator died, two others injured. the shooter was on a roof less than 200 yards from the stage, taken down by snipers on a counterroof. he was identified as thomas crooks, a registered republican

with no records. he gave $15 donation to a political action committee the day bide was sworn into office. on truth social, trump thanked the secret service and extended condolences to the family of the spectator who died. early sunday morning, donald trump went home to new jersey. the ordeal over, the country just beginning to absorb what happened. today brought more details of the criminal investigation. the fbi called the attack a case of domestic terrorism and said agents found a suspicious device in the alleged shooter's car. a county bomb squad also told nbc news that they searched crooks' home as neighbors looked on. >> it is a quiet neighborhood and what goes on in everyone's homes, we just know don't know. >> reporter: police identified

the man killed at yesterday's rally as cory completori, a firefighter and father of two. >> i just spoke to cory's wife and cory's two daughters. cory was a girl dad. cory was a firefighter. cory went to church every sunday. cory loved his community. >> reporter: meanwhile leaders from both sidesay of the aisle took to the morning news shows. house speaker mike johnsonus appeared on today. >> weoh have to turn the rhetorc down, the temperature down in this country. we need leaders on both sides to call that out and make sure thaa happens so we can go forward and maintain our free society thate we are blessed to have. >> reporter: delaware democratic senator chris coops eccooed the thought on meet the press. >> i would urge folks to get off of social media today, and take some time with your family and reflect on who we are as a

nation and who we want to be. >> reporter: not everyone wason quick to put aside the partisan rhetoric. ohio senator, j.d. vance, a possible trump vp pack blamed the attack on the democratic party. that ominous note soundedde as e former president landed in milwaukee for the kickoff of the republican national convention. >> tonight we are learning about the suspect, thomas matthew crooks. you saw him in the report. tom winterm has more details coming in. we have moree information and details about this man. >> that's right. we have some new reporting tonight that broke just before coming on the air tonight. that is that the united statesni secret service according to multiple sources to nbc news say they identified this location where the shooting allegedly occurred as a potential vulnerability in the days before the event. the secret service tonight in a statement from the spokesperson

said they designated the rooftop under the jurisdiction of local law enforcement and that is a common practice with securing the outdoor rallies and these outdoor events. you are loobing at a map of that there. this is something that will be an ongoing concern as we go through the coming months and the campaigning across the country as the candidates traverse to various events. we know as it pertains to former president trump, he very much enjoys the outdoor rallies and engaging with his various supporters. that is something that will have to beat looked at. as far as the rest of there investigation, we received a briefing from the fbi and the top people overseeing the investigation. they say they had no prior contacts with the alleged shooter , leading up to the event. they have his cell phone. it has been sent to the lab tore in quantico, virginia for examination. we will see what they get off of that. >> i want to tell viewers the area we are talking about. it is just over my left shoulder

here. it is about 150 yards from where former president trump was speaking. there is always going to be areas in these zones if you will that are outside of the perimeter. the question tonight is why this area was so close and the shocking new reporting that you just told our viewers, that they knew about this area. i was just out there, a massive field. a woman next door says it was a free for all. anyone could walk up. as we know, that would be assassin found a prime opportunity to climb up on the roof and point his rifle as former president trump and pullu the trigger. do they know why if they knew it was vulnerable, why they didn't investigate? >> that is going to be the big question. first they had to worry about the health of former president trump. then they had to fegure out where they had him go. they have not ruled out that there could be some other individuals at play but they

think there is no imminent risk to public safety but they neede to get trump to a spot where they could secure him last night. i think 24 plus hours into this, there is an ability for them to look into it. the fbi said on their briefing that they intend to conduct a full timeline of this incident and this investigation. not just specific to the suspect but the events leading up to it and the hours beforehand. that should help us get a better understanding to your question which is was this supposed to be guarded by local law enforcement? was this supposed to bed handld by the secret service and there question is what can be done to make sure it doesn't happen again. >> tom winter for us, as we investigate the shooter, we will also never forget the victims here. a 50-year-old father killed as he protected his wife and daughter from the gunfire. in addition to the president, two other men were wounded in the attack. dasha burns has more on their stories.

>> reporter: tonight,>> pennsylvania state police releasing the names of three victims shot during thesh attempted assassination of former president trump. 57-year-old david dutch and 74-year-old james cope nn' haven, now in stable condition. joseph mae was foot away from cappery when shots rang out. >> i knew it was gun shots right away. >> w reporter: he was a 30 year veteran firefighter and chief. he died shielding his wife and daughter. the station is reeling from the loss?a . >> this close to home and one of our own's life was taken too early, it's tough, it's hard to process. >> reporter: today the men hang a symbol of mourning on the firehouse and locker where his

stuff still remains. >> what is it like to stand here near this locker? >> it is heartbreaking but it ii a true honor being able to speak about how good of a man it was. >> for people who didn't get the privilege of knowing cory, what do you want to know about him? >> they missed out on getting to know a great god fearing man. he would do anything for anyone. he was a man full of love. never knew him to hate anyone. we truly lost t a good one. it is hard to believe. >> reporter: the rally is a nightmare for everyone. >> what are you feeling? >> i knew my son was scared to death when he held my hand and my son has not held my hand since he was 6 years old. you can imagine. myld hard went into a million pieces. all i kept thinking was we got to be safe and get out of here. >> reporter: images impossible

to porget. erin ottery was in the frontin row. >> trump turned his head and his ear must have been nipped. >> reporter: the chain of events as she recalled them last night. >> i'm sad for everyone, you know. don't like the guy, don't vote for him. don't kill him. we love the guy. we are going to vote for him. >> reporter: a tense election cycle taking a devastating turn. >> dasha burns is joining us live now. it wasn't only the families and people here that were traumatized. people were watching this all over the country and saw these horrific images. >> and trump rallies attract people from all over the region. people drive from far away towns, they wait in line all day for these events. the traumatic impact does not stop at the borders of butler county or even the state of pennsylvania. people who were witness to this event and people who watched it fold. >> i don't know if the video

does it just but there were so many kids here. >> i think one of the most memorable and haunting piecese for me is the screams of the children. you can hear them. every time i hear that video play back, that's what sticks with me, tom. >> dasha burns, live on the scene as it was happening. thank you for your reporting. i want to send it back to hallie jackson live in washington. hallie? >> it isja so difficult for so many people to hear the stories that you are telling, that dasha is telling, considering when folks show up to a political rally, especially in a community like this, this is so-calleds trump country. thiso- is a republican part of pennsylvania. talking to folks who had been there, they were excited to show up and celebrate the presumptivb republican nominee in this moment when about 24 hours ago, the biggest question was going to be who would donald trump pick to be his running mate. it is obviously, a different political universe that we arese looking at now with so many

lives changed forever. at this moment now, the questioo is turning to how this could have happened from people on the ground to members of congress. how did a shooter get such a sight line to trump. how did the shooter get so close. ken dilanian has more. >> reporter: tonight, 24 hours after the alarming assassination attempt on former president trump, growing questions aboutwi what many in law enforcement are calling an enormous security failure. >> if that bullet was two inches to the right, it would have penetrated the former president's forehead and we would have a great american tragedy on our hands. >> reporter: the secret service was responsible for the rally and is facing an independent review of how the shooting happened. this video shows the alleged shooter on a roof, firing shots before he was taken out by aby secret service sniper team. they have been praised as life

saving but law enforcement officials say the entire incident should never have happened. >> the buck stops with the secret service. you can't deflect blame onn' anyone else. >> reporter: former president trump was speaking on a stage in a field. the shooter was 150 yards away on a rooftop. the question is why was the rooftop not secured? >> if you look at an aerial shot, there are a couple dozen roofs but there are not hundreds. it could have been covered. >> reporter: also,ds witnesses s they saw the gunman and tried to warn police. the question is were the witnesses ignored? >> we were pointing on them. the police were running around on the ground and we are like a guy on the roof with a rifle and the police were like what? they didn't know what was going on. >> reporter: this reaction from an fbi agent from a press

conference. >> they were able to get off four or five shots. >> it is surprising but again to get all of the details of that will come out later in the investigation. >> reporter: the secret service did not respond to questions from nbc news but is denying allegations it rebuffed requests from the trump campaign for more resources. >> ken is joiningfo us now. the speaker of the house of representatives is already calling for an investigation now congressionally into what he sees as failure from the secret service. this is something that could happen a couple of weeks fromee now. what would a timeline on what the investigation would look like? >> first of all, president biden said he would make public the results of the independent review he ordered. house republicans announced they would conduct their own investigation including callinga the secret service director to testify. one democrat lawmaker called this the worst secret service failure since ronald reagan was

shot in 1981. you heard tom winter report earlier that the secret service was aware there was a vulnerability on the rooftop and it is not clear why it was not protected. they seem to be blaming local officials but ltimately, the responsibility is with the secret service. >> thank you. i wanton to bring in a former secret service agent, evi palmerous who has been a part of our coverage here. we are showing the map where the security perimeter was, where the building was that the shooter was on top of. let's talk about sight lines. one of the big rules in security is if you can see it, it can see you. understanding that the building was outside of the official security perimeter. how was it left unprotected? talk us through what would have gone through the decision making. >> when you make a security plan, you are looking to secure the immediate area. the stage, i will set up a

magnetometer. in the area, that's where i put the secret personnel. i want theth man power closest o the president. the outer security area where these buildings fall into, that is typically where i'm going to ask or u.s. secret service is going to ask local police departments, can you man power this. i'm expecting this is what happened. you typically wouldn't put an agent that far out. you keep yourat agents close by. what i y think is going to happn here is they are going to be look at who had been assigned there. was it local police departments responsible? they are saying theyol knew this was a vulnerability and it is probably they decided we will have local police. the only question is if you are assigning local police, then why were they not able to access the rooftop? and how was theo shooter able o access the rooftop? if you have personnel there,

where were they and why weren't they able to get to the rooftop and secure the area? i think that's going to be happening. again, at the end, the orchestrator and conductor of all of this is the secret service. they lead the s blueprint. they rely on man power from local entities. you go to them and say how many officers do you have , how many state police do you have, how can you help me. that is typically what happens here. we will see the layout of what the play was, who had been assigns the responsibility of securing that area and then what happened? was it one person for the entire area? can one person secure all of those buildings, all of that movement, vehicles, parking lots, trees. there is so much going on. i would question if they did put local police, how many bodies did they put there? >> former president trump has indicated that he will not be scared away from the republican

national convention happening in milwaukee, beginning tomorrow here. in your view, based on what you know, should the secret service be reconsidering the security posture there at this point? >> i would not. this is the thing. it is an open rally and they are very vulnerable. they are hard to do. you are overexposed. when you are at a facility and even though there are a lot of people, you can lock it down . i know that once somebody passes my security checkpoint, that's all i have to worry about, about what is inside. they don't have this outside element. i also think that everyone will throw all of the resources they have, not just secret service but milwaukee pd, state police of wisconsin. i would not be surprised if they reach out to fbi or homeland security and say we need extra bodies to stand post to secure the area. i think everything will be super locked down and tight. i don't think there will be an

issue there. >> eva, glad to have you with us. milwaukee is at the center of the spotlight of security. vaughn hillyard is there on the ground. give us a sense of on the ground and what you are seeing. >> right. your conversations are worth noting because the secret service dedicated this events as a national special security event, much like the inauguration is and state of the union addresses. this is where the department of homeland security, the secretary designates an event and puts the u.s. secret service at the top of orchestrating and working with the multiple law enforcement agencies to oversee this event. that is what happened here over the last 18 months for the republican national convention. for the first time, a u.s. secret service official began to answer questions about what unfolded yesterday with the

attempted assassination but sidestepped answering detailed questions on what happened in pennsylvania, suggesting instead the focus needed to be on what is happening in donald trump. and i said to what extent should donald trump, his family and others going to the convention trust that the security will be in tact here. the official made ity clear tht the last 18 months of planning has created a perimeter around here that would guarantee that. and trump is now here in milwaukee, and his campaign team as well. most of the 2,000 delegates are here in the city. tomorrow is when the convention gavels in. >> vaughn hillyard live for us in milwaukee. i want to go back to butler, pennsylvania where we find tom llamas. >> hallie, thank you. we will take a quick break. when we come back, my interview with a doctor who ran into danger and we will look at the overheated rhetoric dividing the country. can anyone cool down the climate? our special report continues in

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we are back with nbc news special coverage. tonight this extraordinary series of events, the attempted assassination of former trump has led to an in the rhetoric as biden seeking to assure the nation. >> an assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand

for as a nation, everything. it is not who we are as a nation. >> reporter: this morning, he met in the sechuation room with the vice president, fbi director, and homeland security director. then he ordered an independent review of security at yesterday's rally. he also had this message for his political rival. >> last night, i spoke with donald trump. i'm sincerely grateful that he is doing well and recovering. we had a short but good conversation. jill and i are keeping him and his family in prayers. >> reporter: a remarkable turn of events when two days earlier, he had been on the campaign trail. >> i know him. donald trump is a loser. >> reporter: the raging debate on capitol hill on whether president biden should leave the race after his rough debate performance now seems to have stalled. instead, the charges rhetoric of both campaigns under scrutiny

from the former president. >> despite the hatred and anger of the radical left lunetics who want to destroy our country, we will make america great again. >> reporter: and the current one. republicans criticizing president biden's comments to donors this morning that democrats needed to focus on beating trump, adding that it is time to put trump in the bull's-eye, he's gotten away with for the last ten days. >> i know he didn't mean what he implied there but that kind of language should be called out. >> reporter: it has been four decades since a president was shot. back then, the nation rallied around ronald reagan. the challenge now is unifying a deeply divided country. >> unity is the most important goal of all. nothing is more important than unity. we will debate and disagree. that will not change. we will not lose sight of the

fact that we are americans. >> gabe is joining us again from the white house. president biden is making changes to his plans this week after the former assassination attempt of trump. >> the president had been scheduled to speak to the lbj library commemorating the anniversary of the civil rights act. that has been postponed. his interview with colleague lester holt will happen but at the white house. as for the vice president, her campaign stop at florida on tuesday has also been rescheduled. >> thank you. we will have more special coverage tomorrow night with that interview between lesser and president biden. let's take you back to tom who is in butler for us tonight. >> thank you. we want to turn now to the stories of bravery emerging from yesterday's chaos. among those who jumped into action without hesication is er doctor jim suitland. you can see his shirt here bloody after performing cpr

moments after the attack. i spoke with him earlier. >> talk about the moment when you jumped into action. did you think you could save his life or was the wound so bad? >> when i came upon him, i thought the wound was a fatal wound. it was a bullet above the ear. that's where snipers like to hit. i'm not a ballistics specialist, i'm never served in the armed forces, i have never been on an active shooting scene but i have seen the results when people make it to my emergency department. >> doctor, something stood out to me that there was a handful of people like you when an active shooter situation was happening, they jumped in to help out. why do you think that was? >> i think americans love to help. those two individuals, i'm being called a hero. i don't know that i'm a hero. every hero needs a helper. superman has loislane.

batman had robin. i needed these two people to get this fellow up and they did it. you could tell they were scared but they did it. other people came. when i got down to this gentleman which was in 45 seconds, someone was already applying pressure to that wound and that continued. no one knew cpr. i did that by myself, that's okay. but people were there and helped me. >> i think i saw an interview with you yesterday. were you covered in sweat and blood? >> i was covered with blood. my face was covered, so was my shirt. i had a usa shirt on and a trump shirt on. i also had some brain matter on me. after that interview, i was in shock with that, i was in disbelief, just shock. as i interviewed to the left and i have to give this guy

tremendous credit was an army combat veteran and -- excuse me. after the interview, he came up to me and he said, brother there's blood on your face. and i said okay. he gave me his water bottle and i washed it off, as much as i could. and then i handed the bottle back and he stepped in and put his hand on my shoulder and he said, are you okay, brother? and i saw the combat veteran across the brim of his hat and i said, something like, you've seen this too. and he said yeah. and i said i'm okay and thank you for what you did and we hugged. >> it's likely a moment you will never forget. >> never. that guy was an american who was helping me after i had tried to help corey. to me, that's america. >> doctor suitland, an er doctor

who happened to be in the rally, watching former president trump. he tried to administer cpr to corey but the bullet wound was too severe. i want to bring in witness to the nent incident yesterday. he was a photographer. and i want to show you some moments he captured, when trump took cover and also when he was ushered off stage. during a commercial break, you were showing me the photos up close. you have zoomed in on some of the photos of trump. even though this is graphic, i think it is important. you said it noticed that it looks like the former prdz has lost a piece of his ear. >> that is correct. if you zoom in, the top piece when the bullet struck, it took out a little piece of the president's right upper ear. >> so when we talk about inches that the former president came within dying, that is not an

exaggeration. it is facts. >> the president's team showed the immigration charts up there. if he didn't turn his head to the charts, it would have been a direct side hit to the head and it probably would have been a jfk moment which would have been terrible. we are still thinking about the young father who lost his life and those other victims who were injured and recovering. you are an amateur photographer but you had the sense to keep taking photos as this was happening. what kicked in as you were watching this? >> as it happened, i went to the durlt just like thousands of people like trump. i was 10 feet from the podium in the 10:00 position. we in the audience didn't realize the severity of it. we heard the pops of the gun, but we didn't think -- we thought it was fire crackers. so the severity didn't really happen until we lost sight of the president and then everyone

was silent. there were people in the field saying get down, get down. i hit the dirt like everyone else. when they brought the president up after the cluster of secret service people there, that's when people thought he was okay, especially in the back side because they didn't see the blood on the right side. then they started whisking away and then pandemonium took over. >> there is that moment when former trump raises his fist, gets up, clearly he has been hit but he is not dying. and he shouts fight and people are cheering, and at the same time someone is dying and no one knows that except the people next to him. >> that is correct. no one in the audience knew who was hit, how severe they were hit. our condolences to the family that lost their husband and father and also the two other ones that were hit in the

abdomen area. no one in the audience knew that. we were all cheering for someone that was almost beat to the ground coming up but then after the reveal of the blood, everyone started -- it wasn't a cheer, it was more i would say fear. >> you saw this unfold in front of your eyes, and behind the lens of your camera. when you see those images, what do you think? >> this is not america. that's what i want to get clear as far as what people out there -- this is not america. i'm a republican but i'm an american first. and i want to extent health and safety to president trump but also as a republican reaching out to president biden and his family because this is difficult on their side. we as a country have to stop this logger jam and we have to start opening our hands and that starts with everyone, both parties and it even starts with both you guys on the media.

it's all the media. we have to lower it because it is america. >> okay. we thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> these moments in history are being defined by these images. rehema ellis as more on the photographs. >> reporter: the former president's fist raised, his face streaked with blood, a jarring image that is hard to look at but must be scene, taken by photographer evan vuchy from the assoc iated press. >> the moment the shots were fired, i knew it was a moment to be documented. it is our journalist to to do the work. >> reporter: photographer doug mills from "the new york times" caught these images, the bullet on the path to trump's ear, his hand pulled back to reveal blood, secret service agents

acting in unison, blanketing the presumptive nominee and the president surrounded by agents on the stage. officers standing at the ready, not knowing what else could come. >> the former president's shirtope open, his face bloody, a shoe left behind. before a crowd of supporters and after an empty stage. and faces in disbheef. images captured in a matter of moments now seared in the nation's collective memory. rahema ellis, nbc news. >> and hallie, we know so many of these photographers, the photographers that were mentioned there, that took the images, even though we work in television, we always use stills because they freeze the moments in time. when you watch the moments of yesterday, regardless of what

point, each photograph takes dwrou back to what happened. we have seen the images hundreds of time at this point and every time i look at them, i can't believe just happened. i can't believe what happened in the country. i can't believe how people here reacted, how the heroes and helpers -- i can't believe someone came to this rally loaded with an ar-15 style rifle and decided to pull the trigger. >> in so many ways, it is the power of photography, and the power of the immgs that we have been seeing on display that in so many ways, that first draft of history and one that has rocketed around the world. we will continue our deep dive into the american history books and the lessons learned from dark chapteres gone by with more of our special coverage when we continue. our special coverage when w continue

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is the perfect place to do as much... or as little as you want. make your getaway now and cache in at cache creek casino resort. with the country shaken tonight, the attempted assassination of former president trump is bringing to mind other attacks on presidential candidates and sitting presidents. liz kreutz revisits america's painful political violence. >> reporter: the assassination attempt on former president trump has shocked the nation but that stunning moment is part of a long history of political

violence in the u.s. targeting #3dzs and presidential candidates. in 1865, abraham lincoln was assassinated. nearly a century later, in 1963, president john f. kennedy was shot and killed in dallas while riding in a motorcade. his brother robert kennedy was shot and killed five years later in 1968. 13 years after that in 1981, there was the assassination attempt on president ronald reagan. in recent years, politicians on both sides of the aisle have also been the targets of attack like gabby gifford who was shot in 2011 and republican congressman steve scalise who was shot at a congressional baseball practice in 2017. since then, the divisive political violence has escalating leading to a plot to kidnap gretchen whitmer and the

attack on nancy pelosi's husband, paul pelosi. republicans and democrats are condemnic the attack on trump but it is punctuating the growing concerns of political violence in the country. a poll found one in five americans think violence might be necessary to get the country back on track. many who witnessed history saturday say something has to change. >> how is this happening in our country today and why? why is it happening? . >> reporter: a dangerous reckoning in america now reaching a boiling point. ris kreutz, nbc news. >> for more, i want to bring in nbc news contributor, michael begsler. we are only about 24 hours removed from the attempted assassination on former president trump. it feels so immediate and recent. it is hard to think how this

will be contextualized in the history books but put this moment into some contest. >> i'll try. it does seem pretty raw. hallie, you're right. one of the best things about american history and american society is we correct ourselves. we learn lessons from horrible moments. we just heard about ronald reagan being shot a couple of months into his presidency. there was an era of brief good feeling that year and the two parties in congress got some things done. as horrible as this was yesterday, if it leads to a campaign more devoid of fals hoods, more devoid of personal insults, that avoids violence, it certainly will not make up for the horrible event that happened yesterday but at least it will show american society at its best we always try to do

better. >> one of the many differences between now and what happened decades ago, you look at the images from the crowd, almost everyone has a phone in their hand, almost everyone is captures the first draft of history. that plays into this as well. >> right. absolutely. theodore roosevelt was shot while campaigning in milwaukee of all places in 1912 but people learned about that through newspapers. imagine if people on their iphones had seen theodore roosevelt shot in the middle of a speech and saying i'm going to keep on going on, even if i die because what i have tosay is so important. >> michael, thank you for being with us tonight. appreciate it. let's take you back to butler, pennsylvania with tom. >> finally tonight, violence has once again touched american politics, fracturing the trust in each other and in our country in many ways. what brought us to this point and where do we go from here? here's josh mankiewicz with a

personal account. >> reporter: for a lot of people living today, the clock on the long scary history of political assassinations starts in 1963 when john f. kennedy was killed in dallas. those awful moments changed not only this country but also the world. they simultaneously became the origin story for conspiracy theories. some of the damage would not be felt for along time. >> i do not run for the presidency merely to oppose any man. >> reporter: now go to 1968. in march of that year, i was 12, a face in the crowd watching a dead president's brother start his campaign for the heighthouse. by the first week in june, robert kennedy was gone. just as terrible, he had already outlived martin luther king, taken by a different assassin or assassins two months earlier. today, we don't just live in a world of too many guns and too

much hate, although that clearly describes us accurately. we also live in an angry country where over the years too many don't trust institutions to their neighbors to vote the right way. and all too often, someone's answer to that is violence. 1968 and 172 were election years, the work of assassins both successful and unsuccessful changed those campaigns. will that happen this year? it is already happening. sometimes in america, your vote counts less than a murderer's bullet. in his nouncement, robert kennedy said he was running for president because he was convinced this nation was on a perilous course. >> because i have such strong feelings about what must be done and i feel that i'm obliged to

do all that i can. >> reporter: unfortunately, the years since have proven him right. >> our thanks to josh mankiewicz for that story. i hope we all learned something from what happened here in butler, pennsylvania. we want to thank you for joining us for this special. i'm tom llamasa i'm hallie jackson. join lester holt tomorrow night for the interview with president biden. and join tom and i tomorrow live from milwaukee for our coverage of the republican national convention, all of it on the heels of this difficult moment in american history. for all of us here at nbc news. thank you for watching our special coverage. goodnight and we will see you soon. t and we will see yo soon