Republicans have blamed Joe Biden for Donald Trump’s shooting at a rally on Saturday, after the US president said it was time to “put Trump in the bullseye”.

Trump’s allies accused Mr Biden of whipping up opposition to his rival in recent days, in comments they said had encouraged the shooter.

JD Vance, a senator who is on the shortlist to be Mr Trump’s running mate in this year’s presidential election, said the events at his rally in Pennsylvania were “not just some isolated incident. The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”

Tim Scott, a Republican senator from South Carolina who is one of Trump’s biggest cheerleaders, added: “Let’s be clear: This was an assassination attempt aided and abetted by the radical Left and corporate media incessantly calling Trump a threat to democracy, fascist, or worse.”

Several Republicans pointed to comments by Mr Biden on a call with donors earlier this week, in which he said Trump should be put in a “bullseye”. “So, we’re done talking about the debate, it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye,” he reportedly said.

Chris LaCivita, the co-chair of the Trump campaign, suggested the shooting had been carried out by the same people who prosecuted the former president in the hush money case earlier this year. “For weeks, leftist activists, Democrat donors and now even the President of the United States have made disgusting remarks,” he told the Washington Post. “It’s high time they be held accountable for it.”

Mike Collins, a GOP congressman from Georgia, claimed that Mr Biden had “sent the orders” and called for him to be prosecuted. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a hard-Right representative for Georgia, said: “The Democrats and the media are to blame for every drop of blood spilled today. For years and years, they’ve demonised [Trump] and his supporters.”

Mr Biden has been battling to keep hold of the Democratic nomination for two weeks, after his disastrous televised debate performance against Mr Trump led to fresh concerns about his age and health. His campaign has pushed the message that Mr Trump would pursue a radical agenda if he won a second term, and framed the election as a choice between democracy and authoritarianism.

Speaking after the shooting, the US President called for unity and condemned it as “sick”. “I’m grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well. I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information,” he said.

The shooting is expected to quell calls for Mr Biden to stand down before November’s election, after weeks of turmoil in the party over his candidacy. “If you’re an advocate for: ‘How do we tell the old man it’s time to go?’ – it’s really hard to have that conversation publicly,” one Democrat strategist told NBC News. “This event blocks out the sun right now.”

The shooting may lead to a boost in public support for Trump, who is already leading Mr Biden in most swing states and by a small margin in national polls.

After Ronald Reagan was shot in March 1981, shortly after taking office, he saw an eight-point poll boost that lasted several months.

On Saturday night the implied probability of a Trump victory on the US political betting markets jumped to 70 per cent.