President Biden postpones trip to Austin following shooting at Trump rally

AUSTIN, Texas — President Joe Biden is postponing his trip to Austin after a shooting at a rally for former President Donald Trump left one attendee dead and two others critically injured. 

Trump was on stage when the shooting took place, and he posted on his social media platform Truth Social that a bullet pierced part of his ear. The FBI said it is investigating the shooting as an assassination attempt. 

Biden was set to visit and speak at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library on Monday, July 15, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. The LBJ Foundation said the public program will be postponed to a new date in July, which will be announced this week. 

“Given the unfortunate events of the last 24 hours, we anticipated that the President’s schedule could change anytime. We are honored President Biden remains committed to joining us at the LBJ Library to mark the 60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, and we look forward to hosting [Biden] later this month,” Mark K. Updegrove, president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation, posted on X, formerly Twitter. 

The White House also confirmed that Biden would reschedule his visit.

In response to the apparent assassination attempt, the LBJ Foundation posted a joint statement from Luci Baines Johnson, Lynda Johnson Robb and Susan Ford Bales. The statement spoke about the need for the country to heal and their experience with political violence in the past with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, assassination attempts against President Gerald Ford and the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. 

“Our hearts are shattered over the attempted assassination of former President Trump and the death and injury of several of his supporters,” the statement said. “Our prayers are with all of their families and for healing in our country.”

The statement went on to say, “There is no place for violence in America.”