US President Joe Biden on Sunday night addressed the nation from the Oval Office following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
“I want to speak to you tonight about the need for us to lower the temperature in our politics and to remember, when we disagree, we are not enemies, we are neighbors, we are friends, co-workers, citizens and, most importantly, we are fellow Americans. We must stand together,” said Biden.
“There’s no place in America for this kind of violence. For any violence, ever,” said the President, adding, “The political rhetoric has gotten really heated. It’s time to cool it down.”
“Here in America, our unity is the most illusive of goals right now,” he continued.
“In American democracy, arguments are made in good faith….We owe that to ourselves. We owe that to our children and our grandchildren.”
“I'll continue to speak out strongly for our democracy, stand up for our Constitution and the rule of law, to call for action at the ballot box … That's how democracy should work ... we resolve our difference at the ballot box, not with bullets,” stated Biden.
His address from the Oval Office was the second time on Sunday that Biden spoke to the nation. In comments earlier, the President stated that he spoke with Trump and added, "I'm sincerely grateful that he's doing well and recovering. We had a short but good conversation. Jill and I are keeping him and his family in our prayers."
He added, "We also extend our condolences to the family of the victim who was killed. He was a father, he was protecting his family when the bullets were being fired. And he lost his life. God love him.”
"We are also praying for the full recovery of those who were injured, and we're grateful to the Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies who risked their lives literally for our nation," said Biden.
The shooter in Saturday's incident has been identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old man who was located on the roof of a manufacturing plant about 130 yards from Trump's location.
The FBI said on Sunday that the shooter acted alone and that it is still actively investigating the shooter’s background – including working to gain access to his phone.
“We are working to get access to the phone,” Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, said. “We have shipped the phone to our lab at Quantico.”
Rojek also said the FBI has “not identified an ideology associated with the subject,” but cautioned that “we’re still very early in this investigation.”
He added the FBI doesn’t “have any kind of fidelity right now on the shooter’s actions immediately prior to him engaging the former president.”