On July 13, 2024, a gunman opened fire at a campaign rally for former U.S. President Donald Trump in an attempted assassination attempt, fatally shooting a bystander and critically injuring two other people. Pennsylvania State Police confirmed the identity of the man killed, Corey Comperatore, the following day.
And according to a report from the New York Post published on July 15, President Joe Biden, but not Trump, attempted to contact Comperatore's widow, Helen Comperatore, to offer his condolences.
Posts on social media sites including Instagram, Facebook and X criticized Trump's supposed lack of contact with the victim's family, pointing out unverified reports that the former president was seen golfing the day after the attempted assassination.
However, according to the Post's reporting, Helen Comperatore declined the call from Biden. "I didn't talk to Biden. I didn't want to talk to him," she said. "My husband was a devout Republican and he would not have wanted me to talk to him."
She added that she felt no ill will towards Biden, and that she did not hold him accountable for the shooting.
The posts criticizing Trump are now outdated, however. According to reporting from The New York Times and NBC News, both published July 16, Trump reached out to the family on July 15 and spoke with Helen Comperatore on July 16.