Biden Back on Campaign Trail, Says ‘Politics Has Gotten Too Heated’

President Joe Biden speaks at the 115th NAACP National Convention at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev. on July 16, 2024. Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images

President Joe Biden returned to the campaign trail on July 16 to shore up support among black voters in Nevada, a key battleground state.

This was his first campaign appearance since the assassination attempt on his rival, former President Donald Trump, on July 13.

“It’s time for an important conversation in this country,” the president said in his Las Vegas speech. “Our politics has gotten too heated.”

President  Biden addressed a convention held by the civil rights group National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

He urged all Americans to “lower the temperature” and oppose all violence.

“We all have a responsibility,” he said. “Don’t be silent on others.”

However, he stated that lowering the temperature does not mean he should stop telling the truth. He criticized his predecessor’s policies, suggesting that they negatively impacted black communities.

In his 30-minute speech, he emphasized his policies, which he says will benefit black voters, such as investing in childcare, providing high-speed broadband, reducing drug prices, forgiving student loans, and investing $16 billion in historically black colleges and universities.

“Everybody deserves a shot, just a shot, no guarantee. Give hate no safe harbor. Leave no one behind. That’s a stark contrast to my predecessor,” President Biden said before concluding his speech.

The president’s speech in Nevada coincided with the ongoing Republican National Convention this week in Milwaukee, where former President Trump and his vice presidential pick, Ohio Senator JD Vance, were formally nominated as the GOP ticket for the 2024 presidential election.

‘Time to Cool it Down’

On July 14, President Biden addressed the nation from the Oval Office, urging Americans to unite after the shooting at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“It’s time to cool it down,” the president said.

The incident in Pennsylvania is the first assassination attempt against a current or former president in more than four decades, with the last taking place in 1981 when then-President Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded in Washington by a lone gunman.

“My first reaction was, my God,” the president told NBC’s Lester Holt on July 15 about the assassination attempt.

He confirmed that he had a phone call with former President Trump following the incident, describing the conversation as “very cordial.”

“I told him how concerned I was, and I wanted to make sure I knew how he was actually doing. He sounded good, he said he was fine, and he thanked me for calling him,” the president said during the NBC interview.

On July 16, the Biden campaign confirmed that a virtual vote would take place before the end of July, potentially helping President Biden secure the presidential nomination ahead of the Democratic National Convention in August.

Quentin Fulks, President Biden’s principal deputy campaign manager, said the Democratic National Committee (DNC) will proceed with the plan as previously scheduled and organize a virtual roll call before the convention.

“I think the answer here is very simple,” Mr. Fulks said during a news conference in Milwaukee addressing the decision. “There have been virtual roll calls in previous presidential elections.”

Jacob Burg contributed to this report.