Biden calls for unity following Trump assassination attempt

President Biden condemned political violence in remarks from the Oval Office on Sunday, and said the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump necessitates a cooling down of heated political rhetoric in the country. 

“I want to speak to you tonight about the need for us to lower the temperature in our politics,” Biden said. “We're neighbors or friends, coworkers, citizens. Most importantly, we are fellow Americans, we must stand together,” Biden said.

Biden drew a throughline from the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol to the assault former Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband and intimidation of election officials: “We can’t allow this violence to be normalized,” Biden said. “I believe politics ought to be an arena for peaceful debate.”

“Our politics must never be a literal battlefield,” he said. “We resolve our differences at the ballot box -- not with bullets.”

The attempted assassination of former President Trump is being investigated as Trump prepares to officially accept the Republican party’s presidential nomination at its convention in Milwaukee this week.

On Saturday, a 20-year-old identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks allegedly shot at Trump and killed one person at a political rally for the former president in Butler, Pa.

Trump said a bullet pierced the top of his right ear.

Biden's remarks from the Oval Office on Sunday night capped a day marked by drips of information revealed about Crooks and his victims, one of whom was killed.

FBI officials described Crooks as a lone gunman with no obvious political ideology. On Capitol Hill, the shooting spurred increased scrutiny of the Secret Service and whether it did enough to protect Trump, but also raised widespread concerns about political violence.

Biden has