Joe Biden to sit for interview with NBC’s Lester Holt: Live updates

Donald Trump has said that Joe Biden “couldn’t have been nicer” in a phone call between the two men shortly after the attempt on his life over the weekend.

The former president told ABC News that the incident had had “an impact” on him and that Biden’s gesture in the aftermath had been “very nice.”

“He couldn’t have been nicer,” he said.

Biden was also asked about his phone call with Trump after this past weekend’s shooting in an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, which he described as a “very cordial” conversation.

“I told him how concerned I was and wanted to make sure I knew how he was actually doing. He sounded good. He said he was fine. And he thanked me for calling him,” Biden said.

“I told him he was literally in the prayers of Jill and me, and I hoped his whole family was weathering this.”

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has said that the attempted assassination of Donald Trump was “unacceptable” but that she has no intention of stepping down as the head of the agency.

In a new interview with ABC, Cheatle admitted that “the buck stops with me” but that she plans to stay on as director.

Asked about her reaction to the news of the incident, she said: “Shock and then concern, obviously, for the former president.

“This is an event that should have never happened… The Secret Service is responsible for the protection of the former president… The buck stops with me. I am the director of the Secret Service.

“It was unacceptable, and it’s something that shouldn’t happen again.”

The president and secretary of homeland security have said they still have “100 percent confidence” in Cheatle, though others have called for her resignation since Saturday’s incident.

“We’re going to continue to be transparent and communicate with people…I do plan to stay on,” she told ABC.

The former first daughter highlighted that the Pennsylvania shooting happened almost exactly two years from her mother’s death in 2022.

Mike Bedigan has the story.

Speaking in a sit-down interview with Lester Holt from NBC News, Joe Biden was asked if the attempted assassination of Donald Trump had “changed the trajectory” of the presidential race.

“I don’t know and you don’t know either,” Biden responded.

“I’ve thought less about the trajectory of the case [than] two things; one, what his health is and number two what happens from here on, in terms of the kind of coverage that the president and vice president and former president and new vice president get.”

He added:“I’ve never been in a circumstance when you ride through certain rural areas of the country and people stand there with big Trump signs saying ‘f biden’ and a little kid is standing there putting up his middle finger.

“That’s the kind of stuff that is just inflamatory and viscious.”

On the dismissal of Trump’s classified documents case: “I’m not surprised.”

President Joe Biden forcefully condemned the assassination attempt of Donald Trump in a rare Oval Office address on Sunday evening, saying it was time to “lower the temperature” of politics as the country heads into the final months until Election Day.

“I want to speak tonight about the need to lower the temperature in our politics and to remember, though we may disagree, we are not enemies,” Biden said, speaking behind the Resolute Desk. “We are neighbors, friends, co-workers, citizens. Most importantly: we are fellow Americans.”

Eric Garcia reports on the president’s remarks. An interview with Biden will also be broadcast tonight at 9pm on NBC News.

President Joe Biden said it was a “mistake” to use the word “bullseye” during a campaign call urging supporters to focus on Donald Trump’s agenda, as the former president’s allies attempt to cast blame on Biden’s statements for the attempt on Trump’s life.

Read more from Alex Woodward here:

“If you’re a ‘senior Democrat’ that feels this way, you should absolutely retire and make space for true leadership that refuses to resign themselves to fascism,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote.

Katie Hawkinson reports from Washington, DC.

A spokesperson for Special Counsel Jack Smith made the following statement following the dismissal of the classified documents criminal case brought against Donald Trump.

“The dismissal of the case deviates from the uniform conclusion of all previous courts to have considered the issue that the Attorney General is statutorily authorized to appoint a Special Counsel. The Justice Department has authorized the Special Counsel to appeal the court’s order,” said Peter Carr, spokesperson for Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Office.

Here’s Alex Woodward with more on this morning’s bombshell ruling: