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NEW DELHI — US President Joe Biden sent out a video message, addressing American citizens after a failed assassination attempt on his rival and former US President Donald Trump, urging people to "lower the temperature" of US politics and "take a step back."
"We are not enemies, we are friends, neighbours, co-workers and most importantly we are fellow Americans, we must stand together. Yesterday's shooting in Donald Trump's rally in Pennsylvania calls on all of us to take a step back," Biden said in a rare address on Sunday.
Speaking about the US Republican Presidential candidate's condition, he said: "Thankfully Trump is out of danger and is doing well, I spoke to him last night."
Stressing that the "violence shouldn't be normalised" in America, the 81-year-old Democrat said: "There's no place in America for this kind of violence or for any violence ever," adding that the political rhetoric in the country has "gotten very heated. It's time to cool down."
"Yes, we have deeply felt strong disagreements...Disagreement is inevitable in American democracy. It’s part of human nature," said Biden, adding that politics must "never be a literal battlefield, or God forbid, a killing field.”
"We debate and disagree, we compare and contrast the character, candidates, the records, issue, the agenda, the vision for America. But in America, we resolve our differences at the ballot box," he added.
The US President said: "Hate must not have a safe harbour. We cannot allow misinformation to spread or foreign actors to fuel the flames of our division in order to achieve outcomes that serve their interests, not ours. Let us remember that our unity is the main goal here in America right now."
About the ongoing investigation of the shooting incident, Biden informed that the motive of the shooter is yet to be revealed, and there is no clue about his opinions and affiliations yet whether he had any help or communicated with someone.
Biden also extended his condolences to the families of the people who fell victim to the rally shooting.