Trump fundraises off assassination attempt as Biden suspends campaign ads in aftermath of rally shooting

Donald Trump’s campaign has begun soliciting donations in the wake of his attempted assassination even as Joe Biden’s campaign halted all TV ads while the nation reels from the attack at a rally in rural Pennsylvania.

One day after a bullet grazed Trump’s ear in the shooting that left one spectator dead, his campaign sent at least two text message-based fundraising appeals which contain links to WinRed, the GOP-affiliated fundraising platform run by the ex-president’s allies.

The page contains an image of Trump raising his fist while wearing one of his signature campaign hats, an American flag flying above. It appears deliberately meant to echo the now-famous photograph, of the bloodied ex-president striking a defiant pose as he was rushed off by his Secret Service detail, taken by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci moments after the shooting.

The Independent reviewed two separate texts sent out by the Trump campaign using its texting “short code,” 88022.

One of the messages read: “From Trump: FEAR NOT ... It is more important than ever that we stand UNITED,” while the other bore the message “NEVER SURRENDER.”

Both contained links to Trump’s WinRed page.

A third text, sent at 5.24pm (Eastern Time) on Sunday, repeated the “fear not” message and reported that Trump would be speaking as planned at the Republican National Convention this week. It also included a link to the same campaign fundraising page.

At the same time, the Biden re-election effort has “paused all outbound communications” in the aftermath of the shooting, and is “working to pull down our television ads as quickly as possible,” a campaign official told Reuters.

Trump was shot at a Pennsylvania campaign rally on Saturday by Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old who lived in the Pittsburgh suburbs. He squeezed off a number of rounds from an AR-15 assault-style rifle that authorities say was purchased legally by his father, a licensed behavioral counselor. However, investigators said they were not yet sure if Crooks’ dad knew he had taken the gun, or if he took it without permission.

Crooks, who was not attending the Trump rally, posted up on a nearby rooftop, which was just outside the secure perimeter set up by the Secret Service. Still, the building was “within the area of vulnerabilities, so a lot of questions remain unanswered,” former Secret Service Special Agent Jonathan Wackrow told The Independent.

One of the rounds grazed Trump’s right ear; the former president was not seriously injured. Still, the rally descended into chaos as terrified attendees hit the deck and a bloodied Trump was hustled offstage by his Secret Service detail.

Secret Service snipers quickly “neutralized” Crooks, whose body could be seen on bystander video, lying prone on the roof from which he fired at least eight shots. Crooks was dressed in gray camouflage and had explosives in his car, according to the FBI, which is heading up the investigation.

Trump was taken to a local medical center and quickly released, then flew to New Jersey in advance of the RNC, which kicks off in Milwaukee on Monday.

The shooting was emblamatic of “a security breakdown from start to finish,” former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker said in an appearance on Fox News.

Moments after being shot, Trump pumped his fist to the crowd and mouthed the words, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” This, Swecker argued, never should have happened.

“[H]e should have been off that stage, in that car, and out of there in seconds,” he said. “And it was a lifetime. If there had been a second shooter, they would have taken him out… it was almost a kill-shot as it was… So this breaks every rule of the Secret Service’s protocol, and just executive protection in general.”

One rally attendee was killed in the shooting, and two others suffered critical injuries, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.

A day after the violent episode, retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent Dennis Franks told The Independent he was still trying to wrap his head around what went down at the rally.

“How did this happen? How did they let it happen?” he asked. “It’s usually something [the Secret Service] has under control.”