Politics is not a “deadly battlefield.” Joe Biden called on Americans on Sunday, July 14, to “lower the temperature” of the country’s political life, the day after the assassination attempt against former Republican President Donald Trump, which investigators consider to be “a potential act of domestic terrorism.” The American president solemnly addressed his fellow citizens from the Oval Office at the White House.
“Violence must not become normal,” he said. “The higher the stakes, the more heated the passions,” the American president added. “No matter how strong our convictions are, they must never descend into violence. (…) It is time to calm down.” He had already called on Americans on Sunday to “unite as a nation,” after having had a “short but good conversation” with his rival in the November presidential election on Saturday evening.
President Biden announced Sunday that he has ordered an “independent investigation” into the circumstances of the assassination attempt against Donald Trump. The 78-year-old former president and returning candidate for the White House was shot in the ear and evacuated with a bloody cheek after several shots were fired at a rally Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania, which left one spectator dead and two seriously injured.
Before being evacuated, the former president raised his fist in defiance, an image that is being played over and over again and has already become historic. “Only God prevented the unthinkable from happening,” the Republican candidate assured Sunday on his Truth Social platform. “At this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand united,” the former president added.
Biden calls for not drawing ‘hasty conclusions’
Donald Trump arrived Sunday evening in Wisconsin, in Milwaukee, in the northeastern United States, where Republicans are to officially nominate him as their presidential candidate against Joe Biden. The Secret Service, responsible for protecting senior political figures, said it was “totally prepared” to guarantee security there, despite the doubts raised by the assassination attempt. “I cannot allow a shooter or a potential assassin to impose a change of program or anything,” Donald Trump insisted Sunday on his Truth Social network.
The gunman, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, fired several shots from the roof of a building outside the rally grounds about 150 yards from the Republican candidate before being “neutralized” by agents, federal authorities said. The FBI confirmed Sunday that the shooter acted alone and had no identified ideological affiliation. The shooter’s motive remains unknown, President Biden stressed, urging Americans not to “jump to conclusions.”
The assassination attempt has sparked outrage among world leaders. The event has already reignited political tensions, with conspiracy theories flooding social media. And questions have begun to emerge about the security detail around Donald Trump, who is supposed to be one of the most heavily guarded figures in the world. Witnesses have said they saw the suspect before the shooting and alerted security services.
The event lays bare the political cracks in American society. While the impact on the campaign remains to be seen, the focus that had been on doubts about the health of Joe Biden, 81, and his ability to take on Donald Trump since their debate at the end of June has completely shifted. The American president has also postponed a trip planned for Monday to Texas (south), and his team has decided to temporarily suspend its campaign advertising.