US President Joe Biden condemned the assassination attempt on Donald Trump - the alleged rival in the upcoming elections in November, saying that in America there is no place for violence and emphasizing that politics "should not turn into a battlefield" and that all differences should be solved with the help of ballots for voting, writes UNN with reference to the "Voice of America".
Details
Biden said this during a prime-time televised address to the nation in the wake of the attempt on Trump's life that occurred Saturday night at a rally in Pennsylvania.
Biden used the formal setting of the White House Oval Office to emphasize the need to rally Americans in the wake of Trump's assassination attempt, the publication points out.
"The shooting of Trump was a signal for all of us to take a step back", Biden said. Fortunately, Donald Trump was not seriously injured, he added.
"We cannot allow this violence to become the norm. The political rhetoric in this country has gotten very heated. It's time to cool it down," Biden said. - We all bear responsibility for this.
"In America, we settle our differences at the polls. Here's how we do it. With ballot boxes. Not with bullets," Biden said during his speech, which lasted about seven minutes and was broadcast by major national TV stations.
This speech from the Oval Office addressing issues of great importance to Americans was the third for Biden since he took office in 2021.
Biden's campaign has removed all political ads criticizing Trump.
"Unity is the most elusive goal, but nothing is more important than unity right now. We will argue and disagree. That's not going to change. But we will not forget who we are as Americans," he said.
Biden said he had a brief but good conversation with Trump on Saturday night and that he was "truly grateful that [Trump] is feeling well and recovering.
"There is no place in America for this kind of violence or any violence at all. Attempted murder goes against everything we stand for ... as a nation - everything," he said.
Biden also said that at yesterday's meeting, he ordered an "independent national security review to assess exactly what happened." He said the results of the investigation would be presented to the American people.
Biden emphasized that the FBI's investigation into the incident was in its early stages and ordered it to be thorough and swift. "I urge everyone, everyone, please don't make assumptions about [the shooter's] motives or connections. Let the FBI and their partner agencies do their job," he said.
Supplement
Earlier Sunday, Biden ordered a federal security review after Donald Trump was injured and a supporter died at a political rally in Pennsylvania.
The suspected shooter managed to evade Secret Service agents in charge of Trump's security detail, climbed to the roof of a building near where the candidate was speaking and fired several shots before being killed by law enforcement officers.
Republican congressmen said they would also investigate Secret Service officials, blaming Biden for alleged failures at the agency. Political violence in the U.S. has increased in recent years, with most of the deadly attacks coming from right-wing groups and individuals.