In prime-time address, Biden warns of election-year rhetoric, saying 'it's time to cool it down'
President Joe Biden warned Sunday of the risks of political violence in the U.S. after Saturday's attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, saying, «It's time to cool it down.»
In a prime-time national address from the Oval Office, Biden said political passions can run high but «we must never descend into violence.» The president acknowledged the passions of an election year, and that he and Republicans offer different policy visions, but implored Americans to «recommit» to resolving their differences peacefully.
«There is no place in America for this kind of violence — for any violence. Ever. Period. No exception. We can't allow this violence to be normalized,» Biden said.
Biden spoke for six minutes in his third address to the nation since Saturday evening's attack by a shooter that killed one rallygoer and seriously injured two more. His warning came hours after FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate said agents have seen increasingly violent rhetoric online since the attack at the Trump rally.
The president noted that the Republican National Convention was opening in Milwaukee on Monday, while he himself would be returning to the reelection campaign trail after pausing his schedule to manage the immediate response to the shooting.
«We can do this,» Biden pleaded, saying the nation was founded on a democracy that gave reason and balance a chance to prevail over brute force. «American democracy — where arguments are made in good faith. American democracy — where the rule of law is respected. Where
