In a rare Oval Office address on Sunday, President Joe Biden called for national unity following the assassination attempt on his rival-predecessor, Donald Trump. Emphasizing the importance of lowering the temperature in hostile politics, Biden urged Americans to remember that disagreements should not make them enemies.
“I want to speak to you tonight about the need for us to lower the temperature in our politics and to remember, when we disagree, we are not enemies, we are neighbours, we are friends, co-workers, citizens and most importantly, we are fellow Americans. We must stand together,” Biden said.
The call for unity came a day after Trump, the 78-year-old Republican whose candidacy for the upcoming presidential election is nearly confirmed, survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania. Trump was left with a bloodied face after being hit in the ear, while a bystander was killed in the attack. The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, a registered Republican, was shot dead on the spot.
Following the attack, Trump also shared a message of unity, stating that Americans must not allow “evil to win.” He attributed his survival to divine intervention, saying, “It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening,” on social media.
In his televised address from behind the historic Resolute Desk, Biden stressed the need to “cool down” the country’s political climate. “Yesterday’s shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania calls on all of us to take a step back, take stock of where we are, how we go forward from here… Unity is the most elusive goal of all, but nothing is more important than that right now – unity,” he told the nation.
Biden, who had earlier condemned the shooting in an online post, reiterated that there is no place for violence in America. He mentioned having a “short but good conversation” with Trump after the attack.
“An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation. It’s not America, and we cannot allow this to happen,” Biden stated.
The president emphasized that both sides have a responsibility to ease the situation and work towards national unity.
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