Speaking from the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, Biden addressed the nation following a briefing by his top national security team in the White House Situation Room.
“As I said last night, there is no place in America for this kind of violence or any violence for that matter,” Biden stated.
“An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation. Everything. It’s not who we are as a nation. It’s not American. And we cannot allow this to happen,” he emphasized.
Biden underscored the importance of unity in the face of adversity, acknowledging that while debates and disagreements are inevitable, unity remains paramount.
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“Unity is the most elusive goal of all, but nothing is more important than that right now. Unity. We’ll debate, and we’ll disagree, that’s not going to change. But we’ll not lose sight of who we are as Americans,” Biden asserted.
The president confirmed that the FBI is leading the investigation into the shooting, cautioning against making premature assumptions about the shooter’s motives or affiliations.
“We don’t yet have any information about the motive of the shooter. We know who he is. I urge everyone, everyone, please, don’t make assumptions about his motives or affiliations. Let the FBI do their job and their partner agencies do their job,” he stressed.
Biden also announced several immediate measures in response to the incident, including enhanced security measures for Trump and a comprehensive review of security arrangements at the upcoming Republican National Convention.
“As this investigation continues, here’s what we’re going to do. First Mr. Trump, as a former president and nominee of the Republican Party, already receives a heightened level of security. And I’ve been consistent in my direction of the Secret Service to provide him with every resource, capability, and protective measure necessary to ensure his continued safety,” Biden outlined.
He further directed the head of the Secret Service to review all security measures for the Republican National Convention, scheduled to begin the following day, and initiated an independent review of national security measures at the election rally in Butler town.
Biden concluded by expressing gratitude for Trump’s recovery and extending condolences to the victim’s family and wishes for the full recovery of those injured in the attack.
“I am sincerely grateful that he is doing well and recovering. We had a short but good conversation. Jill and I are keeping him and his family in our prayers,” Biden said.
He also acknowledged bipartisan condemnation of the attack from Republican and Democratic leaders and confirmed Trump’s decision to attend the Republican Party convention despite initially planning to delay his arrival.
“I’ll be speaking more about this tonight at greater length from the Oval Office,” Biden announced.
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