In a Sunday night Oval Office address to the nation, President Joe Biden called on Americans to come together and “lower the temperature in our politics,” a day after a man shot at former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
“While we may disagree, we are not enemies,” Biden said in his televised address. “We’re neighbors. We’re friends, co-workers, citizens. Most importantly, we’re fellow Americans. We must stand together.”
The president ticked off cases of politically motivated violence in recent years, including members of Congress being the targets of an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021; the attack on the husband of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.); and the kidnapping plot in 2020 against Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
And of course, he said, the attempted assassination on Trump.
“There’s no place in America for this kind of violence, for any violence ever. Period. No exceptions,” he said. “We can’t allow this violence to be normalized.”
Biden noted that he called Trump on Saturday night and is “grateful” he is doing well.
“Here in America, our unity is the most elusive of goals right now,” the president added. “Nothing is more more important for us now than standing together. We can do this.”
