WASHINGTON (TND) — The Biden administration is facing another test of cooling the nation’s political temperature down after another attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life in just over two months, which comes as the presidential election between the former president and Vice President Kamala Harris is heating up.
Biden has tried to be a calming force in the nation’s increasingly bitter and divided politics since defeating Trump in the 2020 election that culminated in a riot at the Capitol as a large crowd stormed inside to interrupt the certification of the president’s victory. But he, and now Vice President Kamala Harris, have also had to toe the line as they both campaign against Trump for a second term in the White House.
Trump was targeted for a second time in just over two months by a would-be assassin while playing golf at one of his courses in Palm Beach, Florida. Secret Service agents saw a muzzle of an AK-style rifle sticking out of shrubbery that lines the course some 300 to 500 yards ahead of where Trump was playing.
An agent fired, causing the gunman to drop the rifle and fleeing the scene in an SUV. The suspect was later arrested in a neighboring county and authorities are investigating a motive, but the FBI is considering the incident an “attempted assassination.”
For the second time in roughly nine weeks, Biden has had to call on the nation to tone down the political temperatures after a would-be gunman hoped to take Trump’s life.
“As I have said many times, there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country, and I have directed my team to continue to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety,” Biden said in a statement on Sunday.
After the attempt on Trump’s life at his July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Biden spoke out about the failed assassination and called on Americans to unite in a dividing time. In a rare Oval Office address, he spoke forcefully against political violence.
“An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation,’’ Biden said. “Unity is the most elusive goal of all, but nothing is more important than that now.”
Harris is also facing a delicate balance to navigate as she hopes to defeat Trump in the Nov. 5 election. She is seeking to contrast herself with Trump on character and policy in the campaign but also trying to soothe political tensions as the country’s vice president.
In a statement, Harris said she was glad Trump was safe.
“I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America,” Harris said.
That line was on display last week when Trump suggested during his debate with Harris that Democratic rhetoric about him led to the first attempt on his life. Biden, Harris and many other Democrats have painted Trump as a threat to democracy over the last four years, pointing to his attempts to overthrow the results of the 2020 election and quips he has made about wanting to be a dictator for a day.
