On Sunday, President Joe Biden vehemently denounced political violence and urged Americans to reject “extremism and fury” in light of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
In a televised address from the Oval Office, Biden stressed the need for “national unity,” warning that political discourse in the U.S. had become “too heated” as the November presidential election approaches.
“There is no place in America for this kind of violence – for any violence. Ever. Period. No exception,” the president stated.
“We can’t allow this violence to be normalized.”
Biden’s appeal for Americans to “cool it down” coincided with Trump’s announcement that his upcoming speech at the Republican National Convention would aim to “bring the whole country, even the whole world, together.”
Trump shared with the Washington Examiner that the incident’s reality was “just setting in,” altering the content of his planned speech.
In response to the attack, Biden ordered an independent review to investigate how a gunman managed to access a rooftop near a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and fire multiple shots at the former president.
The FBI reported an increase in online threats of political violence following the incident.
The attack, being investigated as an attempted assassination and potential act of domestic terrorism, resulted in Trump sustaining an ear injury, the death of a spectator identified as a former fire chief, and critical injuries to two others.
Biden underscored the danger of escalating political violence, referencing the assault on the U.S. Capitol, the attack on the former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, and a kidnapping plot against Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Biden commended Corey Comperatore, the former fire chief killed in the attack while protecting his family, calling him a “hero” and extending condolences to his family.
Investigators continue to search for the motive of the 20-year-old suspect, Thomas Matthew Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
Authorities discovered potential explosive devices in Crooks’s car and are analyzing his communications leading up to the event.
Details about Crooks have surfaced, revealing he was a high-achieving yet quiet student with a brief involvement in political activities.
Former classmates described him as intelligent and not particularly politically active in high school.
One classmate mentioned Crooks had been bullied regularly.
The president, who was in Delaware at the time of the shooting, cut his weekend short and returned to Washington to address the situation, arriving at the White House after midnight.
Biden and Trump spoke late on Saturday.
Earlier on Sunday, Biden briefly addressed the nation, urging the public not to “make assumptions” about the shooter’s motives or affiliations amidst the spread of conspiracy theories and misinformation online.
As the Republican National Convention begins in Milwaukee, Trump is expected to receive strong support from the party.
Despite calls from some elected officials in his party to step down after a poor debate performance, Biden remains determined to continue his re-election campaign, although doubts about his candidacy persist.
Trump, who earlier this year became the first former president to be convicted of felonies, faces additional legal challenges related to the January 6 Capitol attack and efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Senator Mike Lee of Utah has called for the criminal cases against Trump to be dropped following the assassination attempt.
Biden acknowledged the difficulty of achieving national unity in a deeply divided America.
He emphasized that political differences should be resolved at the “ballot box” and “not with bullets.”
Following the attack, Biden’s campaign paused its television ads and other communications.
“Politics must never be a literal battlefield or, god forbid, a literal killing field,” Biden emphasized, urging Americans to “get out of our silos” and avoid misinformation.
“Remember: though we may disagree,” he concluded, “we are not enemies.”