In the wake of what would have been an assassination of former President Donald Trump, the Biden campaign plans to refrain from attacking the 45th president for the next couple of days.
According to a Biden campaign official, the president will focus on ending political violence and “the need for every American to come together to not just condemn, but put an end to political violence in this country once and for all.”
The president will give a “forceful” address on Sunday to update the country on the “horrifying attack on Donald Trump.”
It will be difficult to decide how the Biden campaign will move forward since they predominantly focus their entire agenda on attacking Trump.
Advisers say that Biden's response to the shocking assassination attempt gives him an opportunity to appear presidential and try to lower the overall temperature in the country. It could reinvigorate his presidency, and quell criticism from elected Democrats that he isn't up to the job. Prior to the shooting, Biden advisers were unanimous that he needs to take his fight directly to Trump. That's a difficult case to make against a man who came within several millimeters of losing his life. He must continue to warn that Trump is a threat to democracy, while acknowledging the recent threat to Trump's life. Via Axios.
Former Attorney General Bill Barr said he hopes the Biden Administration will follow through on its promise to scale back political rhetoric after the attack.
When someone is “demonized to the extent Trump was being demonized,” they become a target.
"What was bothering me was that the thrust of the Democratic narrative for this election year had become that [Trump] was a mortal danger to our democracy, and if he wins, the country is going away,” Barr said. “When you take that position, you know, that is an apocalyptic and hysterical position that's bound to lead to violence eventually.”
Barr defended Trump against the Biden Administration, which routinely labels him a racist and a fascist.
“It’s ridiculous. He’s not the threat to democracy that they’re portraying. He was president for four years and he carried out excellent policies, and it was all done lawfully," he added.
Fox News’s Bret Baier shared details of his phone call with Trump, in which the former president said he was pleased that Biden had called him after the incident. He said it was a “good conversation and, in not so many words, Biden expressed condolences for the family that was lost.”
Biden announced that he launched an independent review of the security system from the Pennsylvania rally where Trump was shot at.
“It’s not who we are as a nation. It’s not America, and we cannot allow this to happen,” Biden said.
Despite facing assassination, Trump seemed to be in good spirits Sunday morning after he was seen golfing before boarding a flight to Milwaukee, where the Republican National Convention is set to kick off on Monday.