Biden condemns political violence after Trump assassination attempt: 'We must all stand together'
Despite previously calling former President Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans a "threat to democracy," President Joe Biden said in his address to the nation Sunday night that “we must stand together,” "lower the temperature in our politics," and oppose political violence following an assassination attempt against his political opponent.
President Joe Biden gave an address from the Oval Office at the White House on Sunday following an attempted assassination against Trump, his rival in the 2024 presidential election. The assassination attempt, which took place Saturday at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, led to the death of one attendee caught in the crosshairs of the assassin’s bullets, severely injured two others, and caused Trump to sustain a non-lethal injury. The gunman was later killed.
Biden cited the purpose of his remarks as to discuss “the need for us to lower the temperature in our politics.” He encouraged the American people to remember that “while we may disagree, we are not enemies, we’re neighbors, we’re friends, coworkers, citizens and most importantly, we are fellow Americans.”
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“We must stand together,” he proclaimed. The president described Saturday’s shooting as an incident that “calls on all of us to take a step back, take stock of where we are, how we go forward from here.” He also expressed gratitude that Trump was “not seriously injured,” recalling how “I spoke with him last night” and said “he’s doing well.”
After stating that “Jill and I keep him and his family in our prayers,” Biden extended condolences to the family of Corey Comperatore who lost his life at the rally. “Corey was a husband, a father, a volunteer firefighter, a hero sheltering his family from those bullets,” he said. “We should all hold this family and all those injured in our prayers.”
Biden discussed the status of the investigation his administration has launched into the act of political violence, noting that “we do not know the motive of the shooter yet” and “we don’t know his opinions or affiliations.” According to the president, “We don’t know whether he had help or support or if he communicated with anyone else. Law enforcement professionals, as I speak, are investigating those questions. Tonight, I want to speak to what we do know.”
The president lamented that a man lost his life for “simply exercising his freedom to support the candidate of his choosing,” insisting that “we cannot, we must not go down this road in America.” Biden contended that “violence has never been the answer” to conflicts in American history.
While he identified “members of Congress in both parties being targeted and shot” as a recent example of political violence, he did not specifically identify the 2017 shooting of Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., at a practice session for the annual Congressional Baseball Game. However, he did directly bring up “a violent mob attacking the Capitol” on Jan. 6, 2021, and the 2022 attack against the husband of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
After identifying the “attempted assassination on Donald Trump” as the latest example of political violence, Biden declared, “There is no place in America [for] this kind of violence, for any violence ever, period. No exceptions.” He stressed that “we can’t allow this violence to be normalized.”
“The political rhetoric in this country has gotten very heated. It’s time to cool it down. 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 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.”
At the same time, Biden acknowledged that “some have a different view as to the direction our country should take.” He characterized political disagreements as “inevitable” and “part of human nature” while maintaining that “politics must never be a literal battlefield and, 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,” he added. “We stand for an America not of extremism and fury but of decency and grace.”
Biden stated that “all of us now face a time of testing as the election approaches,” predicting that “the higher the stakes, the more fervent the passion [will] become.” He highlighted the presence of “an added burden on each of us to ensure that no matter how strong our convictions, we must never descend into violence.”
The president also discussed the upcoming Republican National Convention this week, as well as his plans to hold dueling campaign events throughout the week, and the political debate and discourse that will result from such gatherings: “That’s how democracy should work. We debate and disagree. We compare and contrast the character of the candidates, the records, the issues, the agenda, the vision for America. But in America, we resolve our differences at the [ballot] box.”
“The power to change America should always rest in the hands of the people, not in the hands of a would-be assassin. ... The path forward through [the] competing visions of the campaign should always be resolved peacefully, not through acts of violence.”
Biden urged Americans to reflect on “what’s made America so special,” specifically the belief that “everyone must be treated with dignity and respect and hate must have no safe harbor.” He also pointed to an obligation to “get out of our silos where we only listen to those with whom we agree.”
Referring to unity, Biden asserted that “nothing is more important for us now than standing together.” He expressed confidence that “we can do this.”
As his speech concluded, Biden told the American people to “never lose sight of who we are,” adding, “there is nothing, nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together.”
While Biden’s speech intended to serve as a call for unity, critics of the president have suggested that his rhetoric and that of his party have contributed to a climate where political violence is possible. In a statement to Fox News, former United States Attorney General William Barr urged Democrats to “stop their grossly irresponsible talk about Trump being an existential threat to democracy.”
In a 2022 speech ahead of that year’s midterm elections, Biden warned that “equality and democracy are under assault” because “Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., published a post on X Saturday calling on Biden to “put pettiness aside and grant secret service protection” to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a leading independent candidate for president seen by many as a potential spoiler for Biden in the 2024 presidential election.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
