'It's sick': Biden leads condemnation after Trump wounded at rally shooting

US President Joe Biden led the condemnation after his election rival Donald Trump was wounded in an apparent assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, in violence that also left a bystander dead.

Political leaders on both sides of the aisle slammed the attack minutes after the Republican candidate was rushed off stage by the Secret Service with blood running down his face.

"There's no place in America for this kind of violence. It's sick. It's sick. It's one of the reasons why we have to unite this country... We cannot be like this, we cannot condone this," Biden told reporters in an emergency briefing at Rehoboth Beach in Delaware.

"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 said.

He said he hoped to speak with Trump "shortly."

Vice President Kamala Harris said on X: "We are praying for him, his family, and all those who have been injured and impacted by this senseless shooting."

Biden's former boss, Barack Obama, echoed his words in a statement, saying there was "absolutely no place for political violence in our democracy."

"Although we don't yet know exactly what happened, we should all be relieved that former President Trump wasn't seriously hurt, and use this moment to recommit ourselves to civility and respect in our politics," the Democrat said on X.