In remarks delivered from the White House’s Oval Office, President Joe Biden on Sunday forcefully condemned political violence and called for national unity following the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump a night earlier.
“I want to speak to you tonight about the need for us to lower the temperature in our politics,” Biden said. “We must stand together.”
The shooting “calls on all of us to take a step back, take stock of where we are, how we go forward from here,” he added.
Biden’s historic remarks come roughly 26 hours after a shooter, identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, opened fire at a Trump campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. Law enforcement officials are investigating the shooting as an assassination attempt against Trump, who said a bullet “pierced” part of his right ear during the attack.
Rally attendee Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed in the attack and two other spectators — 57-year-old David Dutch and 74-year-old James Copenhaver — were injured. Both men were listed in stable condition.
As Politico reported Sunday, Biden has delivered just two other speeches from behind the Resolute Desk: In June 2023, “to mark the passage of legislation averting a federal default, and in October, to discuss the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.”
In the address, Biden reminded Americans that political differences should be resolved “at the ballot box … not with bullets.”
“The power to change America should always rest in the hands of the people, not in the hands of a would-be assassin,” he continued, adding: “Here in America we need to get out of our silos. … Let’s remember here in America our unity is the most elusive of our goals. Nothing is more important for us now than standing together. We can do this.”
The address came the night before the Republican National Convention officially nominating Trump was set to begin in Milwaukee, a political reality that Biden acknowledged, saying that both sides will be offering a vision for the country in the upcoming week.
Biden said the country faces “deeply felt, strong disagreements” about its future in this election, arguing that “the choice we make in this election is going to shape the future of America and the world for decades to come.”
Although he did not make the comparison directly, Biden used language similar to what he’s used in other speeches in which he argued that Trump and his allies do not respect American democracy. He said he would continue to advocate for “an America not of extremism and fury but of decency and grace.”
“I will continue to speak out strongly for our democracy, to stand up for our Constitution and the rule of law, to call for action at the ballot box, no violence on our streets,” he said. “That’s how democracy should work.”
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, some prominent Trump allies blamed Biden’s rhetoric on the campaign trail, claiming it inspired the attack. Law enforcement officials have not identified the shooter’s motive.
“The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs,” Republican Sen. JD Vance, one of four finalists on Trump’s vice presidential shortlist, wrote on X. “That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”
Biden spoke at the White House earlier Sunday, flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris and Attorney General Merrick Garland. In that address, Biden again condemned the shooting and said he had a “short but good conversation” with Trump on Saturday night.
“Jill and I are keeping him and his family in our prayers,” the president had said.
