UPDATE - Biden calls for unity after Trump assassination attempt

ADDS MORE QUOTES, BACKGROUND

By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Joe Biden called on Americans to “stand together” Sunday following an assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, saying politics must never be a "literal battlefield.”

“We debate and disagree, we compare and contrast the character of the candidates, the records, the issues, the agenda, the visions for America. But in America, we resolve our differences at the ballot box. That’s how we do it, at the ballot box — not with bullets. The power to change America should always rest in the hands of the people, not in the hands of a would-be assassin,” Biden said when addressing the nation from the Oval Office.

Noting that disagreements are inevitable in a democracy, he said: "But politics must never be a literal battlefield, god forbid a killing field.”

“We can’t allow this violence to be normalized. The political rhetoric in this country has gotten very heated. It’s time to cool it down. We all have a responsibility to do that,” he added.

"I believe politics ought to be an arena for peaceful debate," he said. "All of us now face a time of testing as the election approaches."

“Violence has never been the answer. Whether it’s with members of Congress of both parties being targeted and shot, or a violent mob attacking the Capitol on Jan. 6th, or a brutal attack on the spouse of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, or information and intimidation on election officials, or the kidnapping plot against a sitting governor, or an attempted assassination on Donald Trump,” he stressed.

On the assassination attempt against Trump at a rally, Biden said the motive of the shooter, who was identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old Pennsylvania man, is still unknown, noting that law enforcement professionals are investigating the incident.

Crooks was fatally shot by a Secret Service agent after he opened fire from what the agency said was an elevated position outside of the Butler, Pennsylvania field where Trump was addressing his supporters ahead of November's presidential election.

Earlier Sunday, Biden said he spoke with Trump the previous day, adding: "I am 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."

In addition to the shooter, one spectator is dead and two others were critically injured.

Biden also extended his condolences to the family of the man who was killed, Corey Comperatore.

"Corey was a husband, a father, a volunteer firefighter, a hero, sheltering his family from those bullets," he said.