Former first lady Melania Trump called the individual who attempted to assassinate her husband, former President Donald Trump, "a monster".
Melania also urged Americans to recognise their leaders are more than their politics and are human beings with families - as she feared her son Barron would be left without a father.
In a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, Melania wrote: "When I watched that violent bullet strike my husband, Donald, I realized my life, and Barron's life, were on the brink of devastating change. I am grateful to the brave secret service agents and law enforcement officials who risked their own lives to protect my husband.
"A monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine attempted to ring out Donald's passion - his laughter, ingenuity, love of music, and inspiration. The core facets of my husband's life - his human side - were buried below the political machine. Donald, the generous and caring man who I have been with through the best of times and the worst of times."
The comments were her first since the incident at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday evening.
She also called on Americans to, "ascend above the hate, the vitriol, and the simple-minded ideas that ignite violence," before adding, "We all want a world where respect is paramount, family is first, and love transcends. We can realize this world again. Each of us demand to get it back. We must insist that respect fills the cornerstone of our relationships, again."
The former president and current candidate said after the incident that he was hit in the ear by a bullet. Striking images taken at the event showed him bleeding on one side of his face.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has named the suspected shooter, who was killed at the scene, as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
© Cover Media