Assassination attempt against Donald Trump | Biden calls for calm in America’s address to the nation

(Washington) Joe Biden called on Americans on Sunday to “lower the temperature”, the day after the assassination attempt against former Republican President Donald Trump, which investigators consider to be “a potential act of domestic terrorism”.

“I want to talk to you tonight about the need to lower the temperature of our political life,” the American president declared, addressing his fellow citizens solemnly from the Oval Office at the White House.

Politics is not a “murderous battlefield” and “violence must not become something normal,” he said.

“The higher the stakes, the more heated the passions,” the American president added. “However strong our convictions may be, they must never descend into violence.” […] It’s time to calm down.”

He had already called on Americans on Sunday to “unite as a nation”, after having had a “short but good conversation” with his rival in the November presidential election on Saturday evening.

President Biden announced Sunday that he has ordered an “independent investigation” into the circumstances surrounding the assassination attempt against Donald Trump.

The 78-year-old former president and new candidate for the White House was injured in the ear and evacuated with a bloody cheek after several shots were fired at a rally on Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania, which left one spectator dead and two seriously injured.

The deceased was identified as a former firefighter, Corey Comperatore, 50, according to the governor of the northeastern state.

Before being evacuated, the former president raised his fist in the air in defiance, an image that is being played over and over again and has already become historic.

“Only God prevented the unthinkable from happening,” the Republican candidate assured Sunday on his Truth Social platform.

“At this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand united,” the former president added.

Donald Trump arrived Sunday evening in Wisconsin, in Milwaukee, in the north-east of the United States, where the Republicans must officially invest him as their presidential candidate against Joe Biden.

The Secret Service, which is responsible for protecting senior political figures, said it was “fully prepared” to guarantee security there, despite doubts raised by the assassination attempt.

“I cannot allow a ‘shooter’ or a potential assassin to force a change of program or anything,” Donald Trump insisted Sunday on his Truth Social network.

Isolated shooter

The shooter, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, fired several shots from the roof of a building outside the rally perimeter about 150 yards from the Republican candidate before being “neutralized” by officers, federal authorities said.

The FBI confirmed Sunday that the shooter acted alone and had no identified ideological affiliation.

“We are investigating this as an attempted assassination but are also considering it as a potential act of domestic terrorism,” said Agent Bobby Wells. The FBI also said the weapon used, a semi-automatic rifle, was purchased legally.

Explosives were found in his vehicle parked not far from the rally site, according to the same sources.

The shooter’s motive remains unknown, however, President Biden stressed, calling on Americans not to draw “hasty conclusions.”

” Surprised ”

The Republican candidate, who had just begun his speech, immediately took cover behind his lectern before being surrounded and protected by agents. He then got up, his hair disheveled and his face bloodied, before being taken to a vehicle to be evacuated.

The assassination attempt sparked outrage among many world leaders.

The event has already rekindled political tensions and conspiracy theories have flooded social media.

And questions began to emerge about the security apparatus around Donald Trump, supposedly one of the most protected figures in the world.

Witnesses said they saw the suspect before the shooting and alerted security services.

“Quite frankly, I’m surprised he was able to get up on that roof and shoot,” Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger told MSNBC on Sunday.

This event exposes the political cracks in American society.

While the impact on the campaign remains to be seen, the focus that has been on doubts about the health of Joe Biden, 81, and his ability to take on Donald Trump since their debate in late June has completely shifted.

The American president also postponed a trip planned for Monday to Texas (south), and his team decided to temporarily suspend its campaign advertising.

For Donald Trump, on the other hand, this already historic sequence could prove electorally fruitful, according to experts.