DENVER — On Sunday evening, President Joe Biden addressed the nation and called for unity following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump while at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Biden began his speech by saying it's time to "lower the temperature" in politics and to remember that despite disagreements, "we are not enemies."
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The president said he spoke with Trump on the night of the shooting, and is grateful Trump is doing well.
“We can't allow this violence to be normalized," Biden said. “Disagreement is inevitable in American democracy. It's part of human nature, but politics must never be a literal battlefield, God forbid, a killing field. I believe politics ought to be an arena for peaceful debate, to pursue justice, to make decisions guided by the Declaration of Independence.”
Biden said unity is the most elusive of all the goals right now, but is the most important.
“The power to change America should always rest in the hands of the people, not in the hands of a would be assassin," the President said. “Let's never lose sight of who we are. Let's remember we are the United States of America, there is nothing, nothing, nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together.”
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The Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party, Shad Murib, said agreed with Biden's message.
"The President did what the President does best, which is leading with empathy and grace," said Murib on Sunday night. “President Biden said that we have to get out of our silos where we only listen to those with whom we agree. And that's exactly what we're doing here at the Democratic Party. And so with open arms, we welcome Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated [voters] to come and have a conversation with us and to make sure that we are actually talking about the issues that matter to your community.”
State Representative Ryan Armagost, a Republican running for re-election in the Colorado House of Representatives, also agreed with the theme of Biden's speech.
“Everything that he did and said was necessary. And talking about unity, talking about coming together, and without pointing blame to party, you know, partisanship or anything else, I think that was a good way of handling the situation," Armagost said. “I can't deny the division, especially political division, that our country and our state is in... It's that wake up call of, wait, we still are a people, and we all agree that this is disgusting behavior.”
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Both politicians agreed this is a scary time to hold public office, for different reasons.
"Nobody signs up to be shot," Armagost said. “We don't have funding that provides us our own security details. We have no way of defending ourselves. It is scary. Obviously, I'm going to be armed everywhere I go, regardless. I'm retired law enforcement, retired military, but I have a concealed carry permit. I carry where I go.”
“When you see the sort of vitriol and hatred that's levied towards politicians or their staff members their loved ones, especially on social media, where anonymity gives people so much space to say terrible and awful things, I think it can feel scary," Murib said. “The work of this country is unfinished. That is the nature of the American experiment. And I have a vested interest in making my country, my community, my state, the very best possible for the next generation.”
Trump decided not to delay his plans to travel to the Republican National Committee in Milwaukee, arriving on Sunday afternoon.
