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US President Joe Biden has warned of violence on US campaign trails following the assassination of his predecessor and rival Donald Trump. “We settle our differences at the ballot box. That’s how we do it — at the ballot box, not with bullets,” Biden said in a rare address to the nation from the Oval Office of the White House. The country’s political debate has become so heated, “it’s time to calm down. We all have a responsibility to do that.”
Biden stressed that violence is never the answer. “We are not the enemy.” Such an evening address, delivered live on television from the Oval Office, the headquarters of the government, is prepared for moments of crisis and major transition for the country. This is exactly what the United States is currently dealing with after the violence against presidential candidate Trump.
“I will continue to defend our democracy, our Constitution and the rule of law, and call for action at the ballot box, not violence in our streets,” the US President stressed in his speech. This is how democracy should work, he warned. “The America we represent is not one of extremism and anger, but one of decency and kindness.”
“In America, we need to move away from listening only to people who agree with us,” Biden stressed. He warned of misinformation and “foreign actors fanning the flames of our sector to influence election outcomes that serve their interests rather than ours.”
The 81-year-old also mentioned the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump’s supporters violently stormed the Capitol in Washington, where Congress was meeting to formally confirm Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. Trump had previously incited his supporters in a speech and made unproven claims that he had stolen the election victory through massive fraud.
On Saturday, a man shot and killed the 78-year-old man while Trump was giving a campaign speech in Pennsylvania, USA, injuring his ear. According to the FBI, the perpetrator was a 20-year-old man from the area who was shot dead by security forces. Investigators have not yet determined a motive. The young man killed a firefighter and the father of a live audience. Two other participants were seriously injured.
Biden condemned the attack soon after it occurred, as widespread terror spread around the world and heightened concerns about escalating political violence in the United States during the campaign.
Trump hopes to challenge Democratic incumbent President Joe Biden in the presidential election on November 5. Many senior officials from both parties in the United States condemned the attack.
In the aftermath of the attack, questions were raised about the incident and whether Trump was adequately protected. Biden announced an independent investigation to clarify what happened.
The Secret Service has not yet planned to tighten measures ahead of the Republican nomination party convention, which is set to begin on Monday, following the attack. Trump will be formally announced as the party’s presidential candidate at a large event later this week. After the attack, Trump tried not to appear weak: he traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Sunday. The party convention was held there.
The political climate in the United States has been heated for years. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice complained about “a deep and troubling increase in threats” against public officials and democratic institutions in the country.
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