President Biden calls for unity, urges cooling down of heated political rhetoric

President Joe Biden addressed the nation from the Oval Office on Sunday evening following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, urging Americans to “lower the temperature of our politics.”

In Butler, Pa., on Saturday, Trump was shot at by a sniper during a campaign rally. His ear was grazed and he was quickly escorted away by Secret Service, but one rally member was killed and two others were seriously injured.

Biden spoke Sunday regarding the assassination attempt, telling Americans to “remember, while we may disagree, we are not enemies. We’re neighbors, we’re friends, coworkers, citizens, and most importantly, we’re fellow Americans. We must stand together.”

He said that the shooting at Trump calls on Americans to “take a step back, take stock of where we are, how we go forward from here. Thankfully, former [President] Trump is not seriously injured. I spoke with him last night, I’m grateful he’s doing well, and Jill and I keep him and his family in our prayers.

“We also extend our deepest condolences to the family of the victim who was killed. Corey was a husband, a father, a volunteer firefighter, a hero, sheltering his family from those bullets. We should all hold his family, and all those injured in our prayers.”

Biden discussed the ongoing investigation into the assassination attempt, saying, “We do not know the motive of the shooter yet. We don’t know his opinions or affiliations. We don’t know whether he had help or support, or if he communicated with anyone else.”

He said that law enforcement officials are looking into finding out that information.

Biden said that America must not go down the road of political violence again.

“Violence has never been the answer, whether it’s with members of Congress of both parties being targeted in a shot, or a violent mob attacking the Capitol on January 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 of Donald Trump," he said.

“There’s no place in America [for] this kind of violence, for any violence, ever. Period. No exceptions. We can’t allow this violence to be normalized.”

Biden noted that it’s time to cool down the heated political rhetoric in the U.S., saying that everyone has “a responsibility to do that.”

“Yes, we have deeply-felt, strong disagreements,” he said. “The stakes in this election are enormously high. I’ve said it many times, that the choice we make in this election’s gonna shape the future of America and the world for decades to come.”

"Politics must never be a literal battlefield, God forbid, a killing field. I believe politics ought 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," Biden added.