Joe Biden’s Oval Office Address: Read Full Remarks

In an urgent address from the Oval Office at the White House on Sunday evening, President Joe Biden called for national unity and a rejection of political violence following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

The speech, which lasted approximately 6 minutes and 30 seconds, addressed the shocking events that unfolded at a Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Read the entire speech below:

“My Fellow Americans,

I want to speak to you tonight about the need to lower the temperature in our politics. We may disagree, but we are not enemies. We’re neighbors, we are friends and co-workers, citizens and most importantly we are fellow Americans. We must stand together.

Yesterday’s shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania calls on all of us to take a step back. Take stock of where we are. How do we go forward from here? Thankfully, former President Trump is not seriously injured. I spoke to him last night, I’m grateful. He’s doing well. Keep him and his family in our prayers. We’ll also extend our deepest condolences to the family of the victim who was killed. Corey Comperatore was a husband, a father, a volunteer firefighter, a hero. Sheltering his family from those bullets. We should all hold his family and all those injured in our prayers.

Earlier today, I spoke about the ongoing investigation. We do not know the motive of the shooter yet. We don’t know his opinions or affiliations. We don’t know whether he had help or support, or if he communicated with anyone else. Law enforcement professionals are investigating those questions.

Tonight, I want to speak to what we do know. A former president was shot, an American citizen killed, all simply exercising their freedom to support the candidate of their choosing. We cannot. We must not go down this road in America. We’ve traveled it before throughout our history. Violence has never been the answer, whether with members of Congress in both parties being targeted and shot, or a violent mob attacking on January 6th, or the brutal attack on the spouse of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, or intimidation of election officials, or the kidnapping plot against a sitting governor, or an attempted assassination on Donald Trump, there is no place in America for this kind of violence or any violence ever, period, no exceptions.

We can’t allow this violence to be normalized. You know the political climate in our country. It has gotten very heated, it’s time to cool it down. We all have a responsibility to do that. Yes, we have deeply felt, strong disagreements. The stakes in this election are enormously high. I’ve said it many times that the choice we’ll be making in this election is going to shape the future of America and the world for decades to come. I believe that with all my soul, I know that millions of my fellow Americans believe it as well.

Disagreement over the direction our country should take is inevitable in American democracy. It’s part of human nature. But politics must never be a literal battlefield with, 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 and our Constitution. We stand for an America, not of extremism and fury, but of decency and grace.

All of us now face a time of testing as the election approaches and the higher the stakes, the more fervent and passionate they become. This places an added burden on each of us to ensure that no matter how strong our convictions, we must never descend into violence.

The Republican convention will start tomorrow. I have no doubt they’ll criticize my record and offer their own vision for this country. I’ll be traveling this week making the case for our record and our vision for what’s to come. I’ll continue to speak out strongly for our democracy, stand up for our Constitution, the rule of law, to call for action at the ballot box, not violence in our streets. That’s how democracy should work. We debate, disagree. We compare and contrast the character, the candidates, the records, the issues, the agenda, the vision for America, but in America, we resolve our differences at the ballot box. You know, that’s how we do it – at the ballot box, not bullets. The power to change America always rests in the hands of the people, not the would-be assassin.

We are blessed to live in the greatest country on earth, and I believe that with every fiber of my being. So tonight, I’m asking every American to recommit to what makes America so special. Here in America, everyone must be treated with dignity and respect. And hate must have no safe harbor. Here in America, we need to get out of our silos. Where we only listen to those with whom we agree. Where misinformation is rampant. Where foreign actors fan the flames of our division, to shape the outcomes consistent with their interests, not ours. Let’s remember here in America, while unity is the most elusive of goals right now, nothing is more important for us now than standing together.

We can do this. You know, from the beginning, our founders understood the power of passion, so they created democracy. That gave reason and balance a chance to prevail over brute force. That’s where we must be. In American democracy, where arguments are made in good faith, in American democracy, where the rule of law is respected, American democracy where decency, dignity, fair play aren’t just quaint notions, but living, breathing realities.

We owe that to those who came before us. To those who gave their lives to this country, we owe that to ourselves. We owe it to our children and our grandchildren. Look. 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. God bless you all. And may God protect our troops.”

Watch the entire address below: