US President Joe Biden will give a bittersweet farewell address at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday, passing the torch to...
Vous n'êtes pas connecté
US President Joe Biden sought to calm a divided nation Sunday after his rival Donald Trump survived an assassination bid, saying in a rare Oval Office address that it was time to lower the temperature of America's hostile politics.“It's time to cool it down. We all have a responsibility to do that,” Biden said in a televised address following the attack in which Republican Trump was injured in the ear and a bystander was killed by gunfire.As the country reeled from images of a bloodied Trump waving his fist after the gunman opened fire at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, Biden added that US politics “must never be a literal battlefield, God forbid a killing field”.The 20-year-old shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot dead by Secret Service agents amid scenes of chaos. Authorities say his motive remains unclear.The FBI said it was investigating the attack as a potential act of domestic terrorism and studying Crooks's phone to discover any "ideologies" he may have had.Republican presidential candidate former president Donald Trump is rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, in Butler, Pennsylvania. Butler County district attorney Richard Goldinger said the shooter was dead after injuring Trump, killing one audience member and injuring another in the shooting. Picture: Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images / AFPBiden, giving just the third Oval Office address of his presidency, also mentioned the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack by pro-Trump supporters as proof that the situation is getting out of hand."We can't allow this violence to be normalized," the 81-year-old Democrat said, adding that the November 5 election would be a "time of testing" for the United States.The short but forceful speech went without any major hitches — bar Biden twice referring to the ballot box as a "battle box". Democrats are closely watching the president following a disastrous debate performance renewed concerns about his age and ability to govern.'Stand United'The attempt on Trump's life has opened a dark new chapter in an already polarised election rematch with Biden, who beat him in 2020.Despite their bitter enmity, both Biden and Trump called for calm after the most serious attack on a US president or ex-president in more than four decades.Trump said it was "more important than ever that we stand United" and added that Americans should not allow "evil to win," in a post on social media.Numerous Republicans — who themselves often pose with guns in political ads — have claimed Democrats have promoted extreme rhetoric that led to the shooting.Just before Biden's speech, Trump landed in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention, during which he will formally be anointed the party's nominee.The US Secret Service insisted the agency is "fully prepared" to maintain security at the convention, as it comes under severe scrutiny over the attempt to kill Trump.The agency faces searching questions about how the shooter was able to climb onto a rooftop around 150 meters (500 feet) from where Trump was speaking and fire multiple rounds.The FBI was "looking at it as a potential domestic terrorism act," the bureau's assistant director of counter-terrorism Robert Wells said.The shooter's father was believed to have bought the semi-automatic weapon used in the attack but it was unclear how the shooter accessed it. Investigators also found a "suspicious device" in the shooter's car.'Bullied'Crooks's former schoolmates described him as a quiet student who often came across as lonely."He was quiet but he was just bullied. He was bullied so much," Jason Kohler, who said he attended the same high school as Crooks, told reporters.The attack threatens to further inflame tensions at an already febrile moment in the race for the White House.Trump was recently convicted of criminal charges while Biden's dismal debate performance sparked Democratic party fears over his age and mental acuity.The shooting will likely now upend how both campaign.Trump and his supporters are likely to use it to back their narrative of persecution by Biden.Biden, who is behind in most polls, will meanwhile have to tone down the full-throated criticisms of Trump that he pivoted to last week to shift attention from his own woes.But while the president cancelled a trip to Texas on Monday he will continue with a visit to the battleground state of Nevada later this week."That's how democracy should work," he said in the Oval Office address. "We debate and disagree."AFP
US President Joe Biden will give a bittersweet farewell address at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday, passing the torch to...
U.S. President Joe Biden will give a bittersweet farewell address at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday, passing the torch to...
Donald Trump ran through his checklist of conspiracy theories Monday in a rambling conversation with his uber-wealthy supporter Elon Musk that was...
Donald Trump unleashed a torrent of rage at Vice President Kamala Harris and Google, both of whom he claimed were conspiring to corrupt the...
Psychotherapist and lawyer Nick Carmody couldn't help but notice some unique pieces of Donald Trump's policy address on the economy to air grievances...
A CNN anchor forcefully pushed back Friday as she unsuccessfully tried to get a Florida Republican congressman and military veteran to retract his...
Donald Trump on Saturday shouted out North Carolina from the stage while speaking at his rally in Pennsylvania, leading some observers to ask if the...
Given a chance on Wednesday to speak directly to a voter about how his policies would materially help working families to afford housing and other...
Former President Donald Trump has so far not been able to stick Vice President Kamala Harris with one of his famous nicknames. And with less than 90...
After months of bashing Joe Biden, Donald Trump sold himself as the president's defender Thursday as he unleashed an attack on the Democratic Party...