The day after former President Donald Trump was shot in an apparent assassination attempt, President Joe Biden spoke to the nation in an Oval Office address where he said there was a need to “lower the temperature in our politics.” While strongly condemning the shooting of his Republican rival, Biden also called out conservative political violence, including the attack on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband and the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol.
Biden underlined the importance of understanding for our fellow American in this time. The president shared that he’s thankful that Trump wasn’t seriously injured. He said that while what happened Saturday was being investigated, he wanted to share what was thus far known.
“A former president was shot. An American citizen killed, while simply exercising his freedom to support the candidate of his choosing,” Biden said. “We cannot, we must not go down this road in America. We’ve traveled it before throughout our history.
“Violence has never been the answer,” he continued. “Whether it’s with members of Congress of both parties being targeted and shot, or a violent mob attacking the Capitol on Jan. 6th, or a brutal attack on the spouse of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, or information and intimidation on election officials, or the kidnapping plot against a sitting governor, or an attempted assassination on Donald Trump.”
“There is no place in America for this kind of violence, or for any violence, ever. Period, no exception,” Biden said. “We can’t allow this violence to be normalized.”
The president returned to his earlier point about the national discourse. “The political rhetoric in this country has gotten very heated. It’s time to cool it down. And we all have a responsibility to do that. Yes, we have deeply felt, strong disagreements. The stakes in this election are enormously high. I’ve said it many times: that the choice we make in this election is going to shape the future of America and the world for decades to come. I believe that with all my soul. I know that millions of my fellow Americans believe it as well.”
“And some have a different view as to the direction our country should take. Disagreement is inevitable in American democracy,” Biden added. “It’s part of human nature. But politics must never be a battlefield, and God forbid, a killing field. I believe politics are to be an arena for peaceful debate, to pursue justice, to make decisions guided by the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. We stand for an America not of extremism and fury, but of decency and grace.”
“All of us now face a time of testing as the election approaches, and the higher the stakes, the more fervent the passions become,” the president continued. “This places an added burden on each of us to ensure that, no matter how strong our convictions, we must never descend into violence.”
“The Republican Convention will start tomorrow,” Biden said, addressing one of the elephants in the room. “I have no doubt they will criticize my record and offer their own vision for this country. I’ll be traveling this week, making the case for our record and my vision for the country, our vision. I’ll continue to speak out strongly for our democracy, stand up for our Constitution and the rule of law, to call for action at the ballot box — no violence on our streets.”
“That’s how democracy should work,” Biden emphasized. “We debate and disagree, we compare and contrast the character of the candidates, the records, the issues, the agenda, the visions for America. But in America, we resolve our differences at the ballot box. That’s how we do it, at the ballot box — not with bullets. The power to change America should always rest in the hands of the people, not in the hands of a would-be assassin.”
Biden concluded by asking Americans to get out of their silos and to stop only listening to those with whom we agree. He also called out misinformation and foreign actors.
This follows remarks Biden made earlier in the day, as well as Saturday night shortly following the shooting as he continued to be briefed on what had happened and what was known about the shooting. In both, he strongly condemned the violence against the former president.
In those Sunday remarks to White House reporters, Biden said the attack is “not who we are as a nation” and added, “It’s not American. And we cannot allow this to happen. Unity is the most elusive goal of all, but nothing is more important than that right now.”
Vice President Kamala Harris and Attorney General Merrick Garland joined Biden as he delivered that address. The president also outlined additional security measures he’s implemented in the aftermath of the shooting. Biden also announced that he’d ordered a review of all security measures for the RNC.
This all comes as Biden has faced scrutiny over his ability to defeat Trump in the 2024 election. Whether Biden ultimately remains on the ticket and what effect this weekend’s events have on the 2024 election remains to be seen.
The shooter, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, appeared to attempt to assassinate Trump during a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was five minutes into his speech when the first shots were fired.
The former president said he was shot in the ear and noted, “I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening.”
As he was guided offstage by Secret Service agents, Trump held one fist in the air and mouthed “Fight” to his supporters. The photos of Trump’s fiery attitude following the shooting have captured public attention and made the front pages of newspapers and covers of magazines since the shooting.
Stephanie Kaloi also contributed to this story.
