Trump rally shooting: Live coverage from the moment it happened — NewsNation Now

[0:00] If you want to really see something that's said, take a look at what happened. [0:04] Mic up. I need my microphone on. [0:28] We just heard gunshots at former President Trump's campaign event in Pennsylvania. [0:34] We do not see former President Trump standing right now. [0:37] We see a group of people gathering around the space where he once stood. [0:41] We now see armed guards. [0:44] We don't know if those are law enforcement or his private security detail. [0:47] And we heard screams from the crowd. [0:49] We do not know where those gunshots came from. [0:52] You are looking live in Pennsylvania. [0:55] It's an emotional scene and we do not know what happened. [0:59] We just heard gunshots that sounded upon the first few minutes of former President Trump's speech. [1:06] It looks like they're lifting him up. Is he okay? [1:09] Can anybody see anything? [1:12] They're moving the podium to appear to block him. [1:16] He's on his feet. [1:18] However, we do not know if he's been struck by bullets or not. [1:21] He's raising his hand. [1:22] It looks like he's raising his hand and people are cheering. [1:25] Do we have audio, guys? Can we raise the audio from the crowd? [1:27] We have blood. [1:32] We have blood. [1:32] It looks like one of my crew here says that they saw blood on his ear. [1:35] But look at him. He's pumping his fist. [1:38] Guys, bring up the audio a little bit more of this live event. [1:43] Bring the audio up, please. [1:49] That is remarkable. [1:51] You have just witnessed history live from this Trump event. [1:55] This is a Trump campaign event just days from the RNC. [1:59] Former President Trump potentially hit by gunfire. [2:03] We have to confirm. [2:03] But he is still raising his arm in what looks to be courage, confidence, [2:08] saying that he's okay to that crowd. [2:10] It looks like people have turned around and are flipping off. [2:14] You guys, be careful with this shot. [2:15] I don't know if the cameraman, he's flipping. [2:17] You can see we apologize in advance. [2:19] But they turn around. [2:22] Thank you for bringing up the audio. [2:24] Keep the audio up. [2:25] We're going to listen in for a second. [2:33] Wow. [2:33] Oh, my goodness. [2:41] Okay, you can hear expletives from the crowd, so we apologize. [2:44] But we are on cable news, and we are in a live scene of possible triage [2:51] as a former president could have potentially been struck by gunfire. [2:55] You can see Secret Service agents scrambling. [2:57] You see what looks like members of the military entering the crowd. [3:01] The crowd turning themselves around from the podium upon seeing President Trump, [3:06] former President Trump, escorted away in that black vehicle, [3:10] looking in the direction of where those gunshots would have come from. [3:13] And again, we do not know whether or not it was President Trump that was actually hit, [3:19] but we did see some blood on the side of his face, possibly near his ear. [3:23] And we don't know if that was from himself or potentially from one of the people that was standing [3:27] close to him. [3:28] This is quite remarkable and really unbelievable. [3:35] Violence at a campaign event just days away from the Republican National Convention. [3:41] The president's remarks cut extremely short. [3:44] Those black cars speeding off. [3:47] It looks like there's an ambulance following right behind, and the crowd is stunned. [3:53] I mean, Robert Sherman is there on the ground, and he was talking about just how many people [3:58] are present there, potentially tens of thousands. [4:01] We're saying it's a loud noise on the screen, but there is no question those were gunshots. [4:06] There is no question in anybody's mind that gunshots were fired at this event. [4:10] People were flipping off whoever they think is responsible. [4:14] You can see how fast those cars are speeding away. [4:16] That is the response. [4:19] We've got police vehicles also leaving. [4:22] Something's happening in the audience as you look on your screen. [4:26] Guys, I'm asking you in the booth, are you seeing, does it look like people were tackling [4:29] someone? [4:32] I'm asking the booth. [4:35] Nobody knows. [4:37] So it looks as though something's happening in those bleachers at this fairground. [4:41] Do we have anybody else, guys? [4:42] Is Niall Standage with us? [4:43] I see him on the screen. [4:45] Niall, can you tune in with me right now? [4:47] I can. [4:48] Can you hear me, Adrian? [4:49] I can hear you. [4:50] I haven't even had a chance to go online and see what's happening. [4:52] All I know is what I witnessed on live television, hearing what was most obviously gunshots in [4:59] the direction of former President Trump as he went down on the stage. [5:03] And we couldn't tell if he was... [5:04] Did you watch this? [5:05] Were you watching it live? [5:07] I was coming down to talk to you, and I saw it just as it happened. [5:12] So I was relying on the same pictures that you were watching, Adrian, and your own commentary [5:18] from what you were seeing. [5:20] Obviously, extraordinarily dramatic and troubling scenes. [5:25] You know, I don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves in terms of saying exactly what happened, [5:30] but clearly apparent gunshots. [5:33] We saw the president, the former president, sort of pump his fist in the air. [5:37] So at least that indicates for the moment that he, you know, is there. [5:43] We see those vehicles. [5:45] Swap vehicles. [5:45] Leaving. [5:47] Yeah, rescue vehicles and so forth. [5:49] I mean, obviously, this is clearly going to be, well, it already is huge news. [5:56] It's dramatic stuff to watch. [5:59] And, you know, we hope, obviously, that the former president is going to be okay. [6:07] I mean, he got on his feet. [6:09] He got on his feet. [6:10] And I think that that was most comforting to the crowd of mostly supporters. [6:13] Right now, it looks like our camera is just looking at the roofs or the higher spots. [6:20] But, Niall, I've got to go to Blake Berman on the phone right now to just chime in on this as well. [6:26] Thank you, Niall, for being ready at a moment's notice. [6:28] Blake, have you been watching this by the second as I have and are just as stunned? [6:33] I mean, you know, I've seen the same video that you have. [6:37] Obviously, this is unfolding in real time. [6:39] And so whenever anything like this happens in any instance, you obviously want to take a moment [6:45] and try to figure out what indeed are the facts, what exactly happened. [6:49] And I think that's what everyone's doing right now. [6:52] Well, it certainly appeared to be gunshots, loud noises heard. [6:56] You can call it apparent gunfire. [6:58] If you looked closely at the podium once former President Trump was raised to his feet, [7:03] you could see blood somewhere on the side of his head. [7:06] But, again, he came to his feet and he was pumping his fist in the crowd to say, like, [7:12] I'm okay, we're going to make it through. [7:14] And this might sound obvious, but let me just go ahead and say it just anyway. [7:20] The Donald Trump, as the former President of the United States, like any former President of the United States, [7:27] and he's also a major party presidential nominee, has Secret Service protection. [7:33] So the men who you saw in the suits there immediately rushed to him and jumped on him. [7:40] That is his Secret Service detail. [7:42] I presume some or many who have been with the former President quite some time. [7:50] Obviously, he was in office for four years and has been out of office for three and a half now. [7:55] And also, you know, he has a detail that is very lengthy, very significant, that is assigned to him. [8:02] And that is what you saw there. [8:05] Having been to these rallies, let me just give you some color real quick. [8:08] And having been, you know, around presidents, those, they're never on stage with him. [8:15] But there are, you know, generally speaking, a handful in the immediate vicinity for exact instances like this. [8:24] They are stationed well in advance of a president or former president of the United States, [8:32] you know, stationed out there before they take the stage. [8:36] And for this very reason, and again, we don't know what happened to Donald Trump, right? [8:43] And we don't know all the facts in this incident. [8:46] But for that very reason, this is exactly why you have Secret Service with a major party nominee, [8:54] in this case, Donald Trump and a former president. [8:56] And the fact that there was such a swift response. [8:59] I mean, we saw the Secret Service agents, we saw the police, we saw men in fatigues, [9:05] we saw SWAT vehicles, we saw what looked like people doing a sweep at higher points up [9:11] at this fairgrounds. [9:13] Wouldn't that indicate that those people were not just there because there could have been a problem, [9:19] but because it looked like from all appearances, there was a dire problem? [9:25] Yeah, I mean, again, Donald Trump is a former president. [9:28] He's the Republican Party nominee for all intents and purposes, [9:33] which will become official, you know, scheduled to become official on Thursday evening. [9:39] And so he has a massive security presence in the form of the United States Secret Service around him. [9:47] When you obviously go to these events, you have multiple law enforcement jurisdictions, right? [9:53] You have the Secret Service who is attached specifically to the individual, in this case, Donald Trump. [9:59] You have state police, you have local police. [10:04] And so when you talk about individuals rushing in, it could have been, you know, [10:09] very likely law enforcement from many different jurisdictions, you know, [10:14] throughout Pennsylvania and that immediate area. [10:17] I don't know if you've had a chance to get online, but I'm literally trying to find anything I can [10:21] about this incident, and there's nothing. [10:24] It's remarkable. [10:26] I mean, I don't think—you don't expect anything like this to happen. [10:32] But—and again, I know that we are measured, and we want to make sure that we get all the facts right. [10:37] But when's the last time we knew of an attempt at taking the life of a president, let alone a presidential nominee? [10:45] You know, we know the obvious instances in American history, you know, over the course of many decades, [10:53] when you talk about JFK, Reagan, et cetera. [10:55] But, you know, this is obviously—again, I don't want to get too far out ahead, [11:03] because we don't know the information. [11:04] We don't have the details. [11:07] But we are all humans, and we can all watch what we saw and listen to what we've heard. [11:14] And really, that's all we know at this point in time until pulled out of their life. [11:19] And that sound—unmistakable for a lot of people, if they've ever heard it, in person or on television. [11:26] But to have it happen in live broadcast, when we're expecting just the standard campaign event, [11:34] the crowds there—I mean, Robert Sherbin had mentioned the tens of thousands. [11:38] The chair is almost all empty now from that scene at the fairgrounds in Pennsylvania. [11:43] And you would expect—you would expect now, under the assumption that those were gunshots, [11:52] a massive law enforcement presence and a massive search to find the individual or individuals involved. [12:04] Did you see something? [12:05] I mean, I noticed it, and I was—I was asking if anybody saw anything, [12:09] because your eyes are racing from every corner of the screen, [12:12] and you're trying to kind of protect the fact that we're on live TV, [12:15] and people are literally holding up the middle finger and using the F-word [12:19] in the direction of what they think this gunshot or alleged or presumed gunshot was, [12:25] whatever the word is at this point. [12:27] We're still waiting to confirm everything. [12:28] But did you see at some point there were some people gather around a group of people in the bleachers? [12:34] I couldn't tell if somebody went down or if there was somebody tackled. [12:38] Again, I don't know if you noticed that. [12:40] Look, this is all very—I haven't—I mean, I'm watching and scrolling through. [12:46] I, you know, in real time with you. [12:50] And really, the only thing that is popping up, [12:52] besides what's on live television right now, with all of the cable networks, [12:56] is that there were medical emergencies at this rally because of the heat. [12:59] It's in the 90s, temperature-wise. [13:01] It's Pennsylvania, so you can expect some humidity. [13:04] And the fact is now they have caution tape being put up, [13:07] and the crowds rushed out of this venue. [13:11] I mean, obviously, you see people walking slowly, [13:13] meandering out of the rows of empty chairs. [13:16] But there were a lot of people here for this event, [13:19] and he went down so quickly. [13:21] You heard screams in the audience from this campaign event, [13:25] two days away from the Republican National Convention. [13:28] Now, it looks like there are still people in the stands, [13:32] and they're just deciding to wait. [13:34] I don't know—I don't know what they're doing. [13:36] Blake, we appreciate you jumping on [13:37] and make—adempting to make sense of this [13:40] as we are live here on News Nation. [13:42] Now, thank you again, Blake. [13:45] Robert Sherman, I know you're there on the ground. [13:47] What are you hearing? [13:49] Yeah, hey there, Adrian. [13:51] So we just had to move down the road here [13:53] for just a couple of minutes now. [13:54] We actually just saw the former president's motorcade [13:57] speeding by with all possible haste here, [14:01] flying out of town. [14:03] I mean, I can tell you that just about everywhere in town, [14:06] pretty much everybody has heard the news already. [14:09] So it's definitely a very hectic scene [14:12] where there's still obviously not a lot of information here yet, [14:15] but a shock to a lot of people that this would happen, [14:20] something that they couldn't have fathomed happening here. [14:23] But, I mean, even just down the road, [14:26] you—everybody is so well aware of this. [14:29] I mean, you're seeing police car after police car [14:32] just speeding by us here right now on the way out of town. [14:36] And as we said, the motorcade just flew past us a few minutes ago. [14:41] And as you were there, I mean, have you seen any people— [14:44] are you in the vicinity where you would see any of these attendees? [14:47] Because they would have a lot to say about what they experienced [14:51] when we—we were just live. [14:53] Like, we were just broadcasting this event, [14:55] and then all of a sudden you heard screams. [14:57] You saw former President Trump fall to the ground. [15:00] We don't know if he fell or if he was brought down by a secret service. [15:03] And then you heard screams from the audience, [15:05] and then expletives and people turning around [15:09] in the direction of where they would have expected [15:12] what sounded like gunfire to be coming from. [15:16] Right, right, yeah. [15:17] So it is—it's obviously a very hectic scene right now, you know, [15:20] in order to try and get back to kind of the ground zero [15:23] of where all of this is. [15:24] But, I mean, what you saw from—from that environment there is, [15:28] I mean, just pure shock, you know, from what exactly transpired on stage. [15:33] And again, you know, I mean, there's still a lot of question marks here [15:36] as to exactly what all took place [15:39] and all of the details that are pertaining to all of this here. [15:42] But it is just a pretty overwhelming sense of shock. [15:45] I mean, as—I mean, all over the place. [15:48] I mean, cars are—cars are trying to get out of here as quick as possible. [15:52] I mean, everybody is well aware in this small community [15:56] of Butler, Pennsylvania, what happened. [15:58] And it appears as though the crowds are disappointed, obviously, [16:03] that that speech got cut short, [16:04] but are really concerned about the former president's status. [16:08] How is he doing? [16:09] Thankfully, we saw him raise his arm in the air, [16:12] which was certainly more than a sign of life. [16:15] It was a sign of almost defiance, like, you're not going to hurt me. [16:18] But we don't know. [16:19] And we saw blood on the side of his head [16:21] when we saw him rise up from that podium. [16:25] I do have to ask you, Robert, I'm looking at the crowds of empty chairs, [16:30] seeing police on scene. [16:31] It looks like those SWAT vehicles have also left. [16:34] But are you—are you aware of—if any of these folks in the crowd, [16:38] if they're hanging out in the bleachers, just not wanting to leave? [16:42] I believe—we're looking at this video, this live feed from Butler, Pennsylvania, [16:48] and it looks like there are rows of chairs that were knocked down. [16:51] Then there are these bleachers, and a section of the audience, it seems, we're still there. [16:56] Yeah, that's hard to tell, just the nature of a lot of these Trump rallies. [16:59] I mean, setting the scene where this is. [17:01] I mean, this is at a fairgrounds, you know, that it's a little bit off the beaten path here. [17:06] It's difficult to get in. [17:08] It's difficult to get out. [17:09] I mean, there's really only one route to do so. [17:12] So, I mean, as someone who's covered a lot of these events before, [17:16] it's something that you make into an entire day [17:19] because it's very difficult to get out of these events in their entirety. [17:24] So, I mean, we should get a better grasp of exactly, you know, [17:28] how cordoned off the area is or what exactly that looks like in just a couple of minutes. [17:33] Thank you for watching. [17:34] Go to NewsNationNow.com to find NewsNation on your television provider. [17:39] And don't forget to click the red subscribe button below [17:41] to get more of NewsNation's fact-driven, unbiased coverage.