President Biden addressed the nation from the Oval Office on Sunday night, saying the attempted assassination of former President Trump is forcing Americans to ‘take a step back’ and calling on all sides to ‘lower the temperature in our politics.’
‘My fellow Americans, I want to speak to you tonight about the need for us to lower the temperature in our politics,’ Biden said. ‘Do remember, while we may disagree, we are not enemies. We’re neighbors, we’re friends, coworkers, citizens, and most importantly, we are fellow Americans. We must stand together.’
The attempted assassination of Trump ‘calls on all of us to take a step back, take stock of where we are,’ he added.
Biden said he was ‘grateful’ that Trump is ‘doing well’ and said he is keeping ‘him and his family in our prayers.’ He also extended ‘our deepest condolences’ to the family of Corey Comperatore, who was fatally shot as he shielded his wife and daughters from the bullets.
The president linked several incidents of recent political violence to the attempt on Trump, pointing to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021; the attack on former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband; an attempted plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020; and the ‘intimidation of election officials.’
‘There is no place in America for this kind of violence or for any violence, ever, period. No exceptions,’ Biden said.
The president stressed that ‘disagreement is inevitable in American democracy,’ and ‘part of human nature,’ but incidents like the shooting on Saturday can not be ‘normalized.’
‘Politics must never be a literal battlefield,’ Biden said, ‘God forbid – a killing field.’
Trump was hit as multiple shots were fired towards the stage from an elevated position near the outdoor venue where he was holding a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday. The bullet pierced the upper part of his right ear before the former president was rushed from the stage by Secret Service agents.
The would-be assassin was identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. Crooks was killed by a Secret Service sniper soon after he opened fire.
But Crooks killed one spectator – Comperatore, a former fire chief in Buffalo Township, Pa.
Authorities say two other people were critically injured in the attack and the FBI is investigating the shooting as an assassination attempt.
‘Tonight I want to speak to what we do know: A former president was shot. An American citizen killed – simply exercising his freedom to support the candidate of his choosing,’ Biden continued. ‘We can not – we must not – go down this road in America.’
Biden said that politics should 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,’ Biden said. ‘All of us now face a time of testing as election approaches. The higher the stakes, the more fervent the passions become.’
Biden pointed to the start of the Republican National Convention on Monday in Milwaukee, Wis.
‘I’ve no doubt they’ll criticize my record and offer their own vision for this country,’ Biden said. ‘I’ll be traveling this week, making the case for our record and the vision – 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 said that the parties need to ‘resolve our differences at the ballot box’ and called for Americans to ‘get out of our silos.’
‘Let’s remember here in America, our unity is the most elusive of all goals right now,’ he said. ‘Nothing is more important for us now than standing together. We can do this.’
Biden urged Americans to ‘never lose sight of who we are.’
The Oval Office address was Biden’s second opportunity to speak about the Trump assassination attempt on Sunday. Earlier in the day, he said he talked with Trump on Saturday night and the rivals ‘had a short but good conversation.’
Biden, during his afternoon remarks from the Roosevelt Room at the White House, vowed to ensure the U.S. Secret Service provides Trump with ‘every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure his continued safety.’
Biden also said he has ‘directed the head of the Secret Service to review all security measures for all security measures for the Republican National Convention, which is scheduled to start tomorrow.’
Biden said he is ‘directing an independent review of the security at yesterday’s rally to assess exactly what happened, and we’ll share the results of that independent review with the American people as well.’
The Biden campaign on Saturday night announced it would be pausing all outbound communications and pulling down their campaign ads targeting Trump. The campaign was in the middle of a $50 million ad blitz this month, with spots running in all the key battleground states.