President Joe Biden on Sunday called on Americans to “de-escalate political tensions” in a speech from the Oval Office, the day after an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
“We are friends, we are colleagues, we are citizens, and above all, we are fellow Americans. We must come together,” he said. “There is never any place in America for this kind of violence, any kind of violence. There are no exceptions. We cannot allow this violence to become the norm.”
“Disagreements are inevitable in our American democracy. They’re part of human nature,” Biden said, urging Americans that politics should not be a “battlefield” or “pray to God, a place to kill.”
The Oval Office address, the type of speech typically delivered at a solemn moment for the nation, came just hours after the president called on Americans to “come together as one nation.”
Meanwhile, Trump delivered the same message after he was shot at a campaign rally on Saturday. The former president was hit in the right ear by sniper fire and blood was seen dripping from his face as he was escorted off the stage by Secret Service agents.
“Let’s Unite America!” Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, as he departed for Milwaukee for the start of the Republican National Convention on Monday.
“Now more than ever it is important that we come together, show our true character as Americans, stay strong and resolute and don’t let evil win,” he also said at Truth Social.
Corey Comperatore, a firefighter from Thurber, Pennsylvania, who had two daughters and was an ardent Trump supporter, died in the shooting. Two other men were wounded in the shooting: a 57-year-old man from New Kensington, Pennsylvania, and a 74-year-old man from Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Both men were in stable condition as of Sunday, according to an update from Pennsylvania State Police.
The shooting suspect, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was shot and killed by authorities shortly after the shooting.
“We will resolve our differences at the ballot box,” Biden said in his speech Sunday. “The power to change America should always rest in the hands of its people, not in the hands of would-be assassins.”
Biden also spoke about recent violent events in America’s political life, telling a national audience that brutality is never the answer, “whether it be the targeting and shooting of members of Congress from both parties, the mob storming the Capitol on January 6th, or the brutal attack on the spouse of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.”
On January 6, 2021, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. The attack disrupted a joint session of Congress that had convened to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost to Biden.
In his speech, Biden mentioned “intimidation of election officials and plots to kidnap a sitting governor.” In 2020, the FBI announced it had thwarted a plot to kidnap and possibly assassinate Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and made several arrests.
“This violence cannot be allowed to become normalized,” he said. “The political discourse in this country has become very heated. It’s time to calm things down.”
The president also noted that the Republican National Convention began on Monday and said politicians from both parties would continue to peacefully debate their respective record and vision for the country.
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswami is White House correspondent for USA Today. You can follow her on X (old Twitter) @SwapnaVenugopal.
