Biden comments on the "vicious attack" on Salman Rushdie

US President Joe Biden condemned, on Saturday, the "vicious attack" on British-American writer Salman Rushdie, who is still in hospital, the day after he was stabbed in New York State.

Salman Rushdie was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Pennsylvania, where he underwent surgery

Biden praised Rushdie for his "rejection of intimidation and silencing," stressing that he and his wife, First Lady Jill, and "all Americans and all people around the world" are praying for Rushdie's "recovery."

Late yesterday, Salman Rushdie's agent said that the writer will likely lose one of his eyes, have nerves cut in his arm and damage to his liver after he was stabbed on Friday.

Agent Andrew Wylie added in a statement that Rushdie was placed on a ventilator.

"The news is not good. Salman is likely to lose one of his eyes, and his liver has been stabbed and damaged," the statement read.

Immediately after he was attacked on the stage of a cultural center in Chutokoa, northwest New York, Rushdie was taken by helicopter to the nearest hospital where he underwent emergency surgery, his agent Andrew Wylie said on Twitter, promising to provide regular information about the health status of the 75-year-old novelist who has lived in New York since several years.

And the New York Police announced in a statement that Rushdie was stabbed in the neck in an attack that targeted him before he gave a lecture on Friday.

"A suspect rushed to the platform and attacked Rushdie and his interlocutor. Rushdie was stabbed in the neck and taken by helicopter to a hospital in the area," a police statement said.