Biden calls Trump shooting a 'sick' kind of violence: President thanks Secret Service and says he has tried to speak to Republican in hospital

President Joe Biden on Saturday evening said there was no place for 'sick' political violence in America and said he was grateful that former President Donald Trump was safe.

He addressed the media about two hours after shots were fired at Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

'There's no place in America this kind of violence. It's sick. It's sick,' he said.

'It's one of the reasons we have to unite this country.'

The president said he was trying to reach Trump, who is believed to be in a hospital near the rally site.

He said the investigation was ongoing and he steered clear of giving a definitive assessment that the attack amounted to an assassination attempt.

'I have an opinion but I don't have any facts,' he said in answer to a journalist's question. 

'So I want to make sure we have all the facts before I make any more comments.'

He thanked the Secret Service and other agencies. 

'The bottom line is the Trump rally is a rally that he should have been ... conducted peacefully without any problem,' he said.

'But the idea, the idea that there's political violence or violence in America like this is just unheard of. It's just not appropriate. Everybody, everybody must condemn it, everybody.'

Biden returned from a campaign rally in Detroit, Michigan, late on Friday night and was spending the weekend at his Delaware beach home.

But he upended those plans by calling media to a briefing at his local police station in Rehoboth.   

His campaign announced it was suspending all communications and trying to pull its TV advertisements.

Two hours earlier, pandemonium gripped a Trump campaign rally.

The former president was in full flight before shots were heard. Trump grabbed his right ear with his right hand, then brought his hand down to look at it before dropping to his knees behind the podium before Secret Service agents swarmed and covered him. 

Biden issued a statement just before he appeared before the cameras. 

'I have been briefed on the shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania,' he said.

'I'm grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well. I'm praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information.

'Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety. There's no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.'