WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden called on Americans to “lower the temperature” in political rhetoric in an address from the Oval Office on Sunday night, asking for more respectful discourse and civility in the wake of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
“Disagreement is inevitable in American democracy,” Biden said, adding that politics should never turn into a “killing field.”
“While we may disagree, we are not enemies,” Biden said during his approximately six minutes of remarks. “We’re neighbors, we’re friends, coworkers, citizens, and most importantly, we are fellow Americans. We must stand together.”
The speech is only the third Biden has delivered from the Oval Office during his term. Presidents typically reserve the Oval Office for speeches of the highest consequence, typically war and peace.
A gunman shot at Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, bloodying his ear. A counter-sniper killed the suspected shooter before Trump was whisked to safety by Secret Service agents.
“There is no place in America for this kind of violence — for any violence, ever. Period. No exceptions,” Biden said. “We cannot allow this violence to be normalized.”
National unity is a theme that Biden first emphasized when he took office, but in the crucible of a tough reelection fight has largely set aside.
In his inaugural address in 2021, Biden called upon Americans to “end this uncivil war that pits red against blue.” As his term unfolded and he launched his reelection bid, his comments took a more partisan turn. He cast the MAGA movement that Trump leads as a dire threat to American democracy that needed to be quashed, not accommodated.
The assassination attempt against Trump has put Biden in an awkward spot. Trump has shown little empathy over the years when it comes to threats against Democratic foes. After a man entered Nancy Pelosi’s home in San Francisco and attacked her husband with a hammer, Trump blithely told California Republicans last year: “How’s her husband doing, anybody know?”
One of Trump’s favorite foils, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, wrote in an essay in 2020 that whenever Trump hurled insults at her, threats against her and her family spiked.
Now that Trump has been targeted for assassination, Biden has shown a measure of compassion that Trump has seldom displayed amid his rivals’ difficulties. Biden’s campaign pulled down its advertising and the president took the rare step of phoning Trump — “Donald,” as he referred to him — to check on his condition. He referred to the call Sunday as a “short but good conversation” and added that “Jill and I are keeping him and his family in our prayers.”
It won’t be long before the hard-edged campaign attacks resume. Republicans are holding their nominating convention in Milwaukee this week, while Biden will take part in some counter-programming by holding events in Las Vegas on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“If you’re running against someone you think is an existential threat to democracy and the freedoms of this country, there’s no day off,” said Cornell Belcher, who was a pollster for former President Barack Obama.
Earlier Sunday, Biden gave an address at the White House cautioning Americans against making “assumptions about [the shooter’s] motives or his affiliations.”
He mentioned the briefing he had in the White House Situation Room that included Vice President Kamala Harris and top White House advisers.
Biden also said he’s asked the director of the Secret Service to review all security measures for the Republican convention. Biden said he’s asked for an independent review of security at yesterday’s rally and promised to publicly share the results of that review.
In his initial remarks reacting to the shooting on Saturday evening, Biden condemned the violence, saying, “It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons we have to unite this country. … We cannot condone this.”
