WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden on July 14 addressed the nation from the Oval Office, highlighting a need to “lower the temperature in our politics” in the wake of the assassination attempt against his 2024 political rival, former President Donald Trump.
“We are not enemies. We’re neighbors or friends, coworkers, citizens, and most importantly, we’re fellow Americans,” the president said. “We must stand together.”
This was his first Oval Office address since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack in Israel last year. He spoke for just over 6 minutes.
He said the political rhetoric in the country “has gotten very heated.”
“It’s time to cool it down,” the president said.
The shooting, he noted, calls on Americans to “take a step back, take stock of where we are, how we go forward from here.”
The president reiterated his condemnation of the attack, saying, “There is no place in America for this kind of violence, for any violence ever. Period. No exceptions.”
“The power to change America should always rest in the hands of the people—not in the hands of would-be assassins,” the president added.
Authorities identified the deceased shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. According to the Secret Service, Crooks fired multiple shots from an elevated position near the rally site before being killed by Secret Service agents.
“Disagreement is inevitable in American democracy. It’s part of human nature. But politics must never be a little battlefield and, God forbid, a killing field,” President Biden said during his Oval Office address.
He spoke earlier to the press from the Roosevelt Room at the White House, stating that he has asked for an “independent review” of security at the Pennsylvania rally. He pledged to share the results of that review with the public.
The president said the FBI is conducting its investigation, which is still in its early stages, and urged people not to draw assumptions.
“We do not know the motive of the shooter yet. We don’t know his opinions or affiliations,” the president said during the Oval Office address.
He also directed the Secret Service to review all security measures for the Republican National Convention, which begins on July 14 in Milwaukee. Former President Trump has said he will still attend the convention, and is due to formally accept the RNC nomination to run for a second term in the White House on July 18.
President Biden has postponed his July 15 trip to Austin, Texas, where he was scheduled to deliver remarks to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. According to the White House, the president will continue to receive briefings in the Situation Room tomorrow morning before heading to Las Vegas.
In addition, Vice President Kamala Harris postponed her planned campaign trip to South Florida on July 14.
President Biden said earlier that he spoke with his predecessor last night after the incident, describing the call as “a short but good conversation.”
The president also offered his condolences to the family of the man who was killed during the incident.
According to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Mr. Comperatore was killed while sacrificing his body to protect his family from the gunshots.
