President praises Secret Service, names officer who engaged attacker

The President opened his remarks by thanking the United States Secret Service and law enforcement for their response to the earlier attack, singling out Officer Victor Gonzalez for a rapid intervention. "He engaged the attacker without hesitation and took a bullet to the chest after his ballistic vest, fortunately, was on, saved his life," the President said.

The remarks included personal praise and a description of insisting that Gonzalez seek medical evaluation despite the officer's reluctance. The President framed the earlier incident as an attempted "assault on our democracy," said security measures have improved since, and used the episode to urge unity and resilience rather than violence.