Almost immediately after shots rang out in Butler yesterday, a raft of speculation and conspiracy theories began circulating.

One of the biggest is the claim that the shooting was a set up, with some people citing the 1992 satirical movie Bob Roberts, which follows the rise of a populist conservative politician who stages being shot to boost public support.

Tim Robbins - who directed and starred in the film - is an outspoken critic of Trump but has strongly condemned those trying to link the movie to the shooting.

"What happened yesterday was a real attempt on a presidential candidate’s life. Those that are denying the assassination attempt was real are truly in a deranged mindset," he wrote on X, external.

"They may not be human beings that you agree with politically but for shame folks. Get over your blind hatred of these people."

Image source, Getty Images

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan has condemned the attempted assassination of Donald Trump as a “disgusting act of violence that caps off an alarming, years-long trend” in US politics.

“We have lost the plot when it comes to the way we talk to each other and about each other,” she said in a lengthy statement on X, adding that the “vitriol” infiltrating people’s lives across the country had “broken relationships and marriages; friendships and families”.

“We must remember that while we stand on different sides of the aisle, we all want the same things… let’s choose to move forward, together. Let’s chart a better path for our politics.”

A Michigan militia-style group attempted to kidnap Whitmer in 2020, motivated, in part, by rumours that the year's presidential election would be stolen.

Whitmer, a two-term governor, is a popular Midwest Democrat who some pundits speculate could run for president in 2028.

Her name has also been thrown into the mix of potential hopefuls who could replace President Biden as the party's nominee, in the wake of his widely criticised debate performance.

Image source, Reuters

If you missed the Oval Office address, here are the key points

• Biden - again - strongly condemned the shooting and repeatedly stressed that it is time to "lower the temperature in our politics"
• He acknowledged many in the country have "deeply felt, strong disagreements" but said politics must be an "arena for peaceful debate"
• Violence is never the answer, he said, listing a string of recent attacks, including the assassination attempt
• The president also sent well wishes to Trump, and paid tribute to "hero" Corey Comperatore, 50, who was killed at the rally while protecting his family
• He reiterated that key facts around the shooting - like the motive and preparation behind it - are still unknown
• But Biden did not address criticism of him by some Republicans, who accuse him of amplifying dangerous rhetoric against Trump
• He did, however, mention the attack on the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, and the riot at the Capitol on 6 January 2021 carried out by Trump supporters.
• Citing the country's founders, the President ended the speech on the importance of maintaining "an American democracy where decency, dignity and fair play aren’t just quaint notions, but living breathing realities"

This was Biden’s third Oval Office address since becoming president - the practice is rare and reserved for the most serious occasions.

The last time he spoke from there was in October in the wake of the unprecedented attack by Hamas against Israel, and before that it was in June of 2023 to press congress on the US debt limit.

Both Trump and Obama also addressed the nation from the office only a handful of times while they were in the White House

“All of us now face a time of testing as the election approaches,” Biden said during the speech, reiterating that differences between voters need to be settled at the ballot box.

He said he plans to continue to lay out his vision for the country as he campaigns, while he also expects Republicans to go after his record at their convention, which starts on Monday.

In an address to the nation a short while ago, President Biden condemned the attack on Donald Trump and lamented the death of a bystander at the rally.

"We cannot, must not, go down this road again. We've travelled it before in our history," he said.

We've heard from the FBI and the Secret Service that they are still in the early stages of investigating the attack, but the internet has been rife with speculation and conspiracy theories - something the BBC's disinformation and social media correspondent has explained could only further entrench division.

President Biden appeared to allude to that in his address, clearly laying out the fact that a lot of crucial information around the attack is still unknown.

"We do not know the motive of the shooter yet. We do not know his opinions or affiliations. We do not know if he had help or support or if he communicated with anyone else," he said.

Image source, Getty Images

President Joe Biden's address from the Oval Office lasted less than 10 minutes.

In it, he emphasised a message of national unity, saying that it is time to "cool down" the heated political rhetoric in the US.

He stopped short, however, of addressing criticism levelled at him by some Republicans, who accused him of amplifying divisive rhetoric against his rival, Donald Trump, on the campaign trail.

"The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all cost," said Republican Senator JD Vance from Ohio following the shooting.

"That rhetoric led directly to President Trump's attempted assassination," he added.

Biden, for his part, has suspended some of his campaign's activities in the aftermath of the shooting, including reportedly postponing a stop on Monday to the Lyndon B Johnson Library in Austin.

President Biden has concluded his speech on the importance of upholding US values to protect the country's future.

He called on citizens to strive for a democracy where "arguments are made in good faith" and "where the rule of law is respected".

"An American democracy where decency, dignity and fair play aren’t just quaint notions but living breathing realities - we owe that to those who came before us, to ourselves, to our children and our grandchildren," he finishes.

Biden has repeatedly stressed that - despite disagreements on where the country is headed and who should lead it - politics needs to be "an arena for peaceful debate".

"[It] must never be a battlefield and, God forbid, a killing field."

"No matter how strong our convictions, we must never descend into violence."

Biden stresses his message of unity after Saturday's shooting.

He calls for action at the ballot box, saying that is "how democracy should work."

"In America, we resolve our differences at the ballot box, not with bullets," he says.

Biden adds that "the power to change America should always rest in the hands of the people, not the hands of would-be assassins".

"Hate must have no safe harbour," he goes on. "Here in America, we need to get out of our siloes."

President Biden has reiterated that “violence is never the answer” in US politics, listing a string of incidents including the attempted assassination of former President Tump, the Janury 6 assault on the capital and the attack on former house speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“There is no place in America for this kind of violence - for any violence ever,” he said.

“The political rhetoric in this country has gotten heated, it’s time to cool it down.”

In his speech, Joe Biden once again offers his condolences to the family of Corey Comperatore, the man who was killed at Saturday's shooting.

“Corey was a husband, a father, a volunteer firefighter and a hero, sheltering his family from those bullets,” he says, adding that the public should hold him and his family in their prayers.

Image source, Reuters

Biden starts his address by telling his "fellow Americans" of the "need for us to lower the temperature in our politics".

"Yesterday's shooting at Donald Trump's rally in Pennsylvania calls on all of us to take a step back," he said.

Matt Murphy
Live editor in London

President Joe Biden is about to address the nation from the Oval Office in the White House.

He has already spoken twice about the attempted assassination attempt on his political arch-rival, Donald Trump, calling the attack "sick" in a statement last night.

White House sources told the Reuters news agency that Biden's speech will “stress a message of unity while pointing out his belief that Trump’s agenda is bad for the country".

Earlier on Sunday, Biden said Trump has been given a "heightened level of security" and would be provided with "every available resource" to ensure his protection.

You can follow the speech here.

Former President Donald Trump has just touched down in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, per a post on X by his son, external, Eric Trump.

In the post, Eric Trump shares a video of his father's plane landing in the city.

The Republican National Convention (RNC) is set to be held there starting on Monday, where Trump is expected to name his running mate for the White House.

Trump was wounded in Saturday's shooting at his rally, but had vowed to attend the RNC as scheduled.

Cai Pigliucci
Reporting from Butler, Pennsylvania

Just over 24 hours after shots rang out at the Trump rally last night - about half a mile away from where I'm standing - people in Butler, Pennsylvania are in disbelief.

Dan, a resident of Butler, says their community is in shock.

"Yesterday people asked where you live and you say Butler, they say where’s Butler? Well guess what: Everybody knows where Butler is now. All over the world,” he told the BBC.

His son Braden says it all feels like a fog to them. “It’s not real. It feels like we’re sleeping and dreaming and going to get woken up eventually.”

One couple who spoke to the BBC drove up from Pittsburgh on Sunday - about 30 minutes away - just to see the scene and take in what they see as a moment of history. Julie Busch says they couldn’t believe something like this would happen here.

She and her partner Jonathan Clark went to church on Sunday morning, and lit a candle for Trump’s recovery.

“It’s just shocking this is in our backyard,” Clark said. “It makes me worried for the future of democracy. Democracy feels in peril.”

President Joe Biden is to address the nation from the Oval Office at 20:00ET (01:00 BST), following Saturday's assassination attempt against Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania.

At a speech earlier today, Biden cautioned Americans against making "assumptions about (the shooter's) motives or his affiliations."

He also called for national unity, while adding that he has spoken with Trump and that he and his wife, Jill, are "keeping him and his family in our prayers".

Biden promised to say more at his upcoming evening address. Stay with us as we bring you the latest.

In a post on X, external, President Joe Biden has offered his condolences to the family of the man who was killed at Donald Trump's rally on Saturday.

Corey Comperatore, a former fire chief, was fatally struck by a bullet after he dove in front of his family when shots rang out, officials have said.

"He was a father protecting his family from the bullets being fired," Biden says.

He adds that he and his wife, Jill, are also "praying for the full recovery of those who were injured."

Officials said that two other people were critically wounded in the shooting, though no further details have been released yet on their identities.

Mike Wendling
US disinformation reporter

There have been appeals for calm along with a substantial amount of finger-pointing from leading politicians.

But the response on some of the internet’s darker corners has been much more violent.

Conspiracy theories about the shooter and fake posts are circulating widely on the extreme message board 4chan – with a huge wave of false information flooding mainstream social networks too.

On a briefing call this afternoon, FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate confirmed that threatening online rhetoric has been “ticking up” since the attempted assassination.

Advance Democracy, a non-partisan research group, said it was tracking a number of threats and calls for retribution posted on far-right Telegram channels and websites.

One message on a channel run by a local branch of the all-male Proud Boys group called for executions of Trump opponents: “They should all be hung in the streets of DC.”

One pro-Trump message board was peppered with messages about revenge. “War now,” read one. “They don’t want to live and let live.”

These are not spaces for the faint-hearted, and similar talk of violence has popped up in the past around Trump’s arrests and court dates. But yesterday’s events have certainly ratcheted up the anger.

Read more: How conspiracy theories and hate dominated social feeds after assassination attempton Trump

Image source, Getty Images

Tim Burchett, a Republican congressman from Tennessee, has blamed the media and its alleged vilification of Donald Trump for the assassination attempt.

In an interview with the BBC's Newshour programme, Burchett said: "You have some nut out there who is looking for some direction... and then when our major media is full of vitriol and attacks on President Trump, I don't see how else something like that could happen."

Burchett also told the BBC he thought the assassination attempt would solidify support for Donald Trump: "I think his numbers will go through the roof, and leading into the convention I think it will rocket. Skyrocket."

He said Trump's bravado as his raised his fist to yell "fight" as blooded oozed from his ear would be "a unifying point for Americans".