US President Joe Biden has warned Americans that politics must never become a “killing field”.
On Saturday, former US President Donald Trump survived an attempted assassination while at a rally in Pennsylvania.
Mr Trump was shot in the ear, one audience member was killed and a further two were injured.
The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was then shot dead by a US Secret Service sniper.
In an Oval Office address to the nation, President Biden said that "political rhetoric in this country has gotten very heated".
“We cannot — we must not go down this road in America,” he said.
“We’ve travelled it before throughout our history.
“Violence has never been the answer… There is no place in America for this kind of violence or for any violence ever. Period.
“No exceptions. We can’t allow this violence to be normalised.”
We must stand for an America not of extremism and fury.
But of decency and grace. pic.twitter.com/p5VV7C4Bio
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 15, 2024
Following the attempt on his life, Mr Trump has vowed that he would not allow it to disrupt his campaign to be re-elected as President.
Ahead of a rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Mr Trump said he considered delaying it but decided “I cannot allow a 'shooter,' or potential assassin, to force change to scheduling, or anything else".
"In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win," he posted on social media.
2XHE0J7 Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is helped off the stage at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Mr Trump said he was still processing the events of this weekend.
"That reality is just setting in,” he said.
"I rarely look away from the crowd. Had I not done that in that moment, well, we would not be talking today would we?"
Polling for November’s Presidential election suggests the race is essentially tied between Mr Biden and Mr Trump.
A survey for Noble Predictive Insights conducted just before the shooting, found 43% of Americans would vote for Mr Trump, while 40% would vote for Mr Biden.
Other polls suggest Mr Biden commands more support; a poll by Marist College found Mr Biden leading by 2% nationwide.
Main image: President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Sunday, July 14, 2024. Picture by: Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool.
