Trump Rewrites RNC Speech to Focus on Unity as Biden Calls for Calm

In the wake of a shocking assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, both Republican and Democratic leaders are calling for a reduction in political tensions.

The former president has decided to dramatically alter his Republican National Convention (RNC) speech to focus on national unity, while President Joe Biden delivered an urgent address from the Oval Office urging Americans to reject political violence.

The suspected gunman, now identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot and killed by the Secret Service. A rally attendee, 50-year-old former firefighter Corey Comperatore was also killed during the incident.

The injured victims, identified as 57-year-old David Dutch of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, and 74-year-old James Copenhaver of Moon Township, Pennsylvania, are currently in stable condition. Trump sustained a minor injury when a bullet grazed his ear during the attack.

In an exclusive interview with the Washington Examiner, the former president revealed his change of heart regarding the content of his upcoming convention speech. “The speech I was going to give on Thursday was going to be a humdinger,” Trump said, adding that it would have primarily targeted President Biden’s policies. “Honestly, it’s going to be a whole different speech now.”

The former president shared a desire to seize what he sees as a historic moment to unite the country. “This is a chance to bring the whole country, even the whole world, together. The speech will be a lot different, a lot different than it would’ve been two days ago,” Trump stated.

Meanwhile, President Biden addressed the nation from the White House on Sunday evening. In his approximately 6-minute and 30-second speech, Biden emphasized the need for Americans to come together regardless of their political differences.

“My fellow Americans, I want to speak to you tonight about the need to lower the temperature in our politics,” Biden said. “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.”

Newsweek contacted the Trump and Biden campaigns via email on Sunday for comment.

Biden also directly addressed the assassination attempt, stating, “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 we go forward from here.” The president confirmed that he had spoken with Trump following the incident and assured the nation that the former president was not seriously injured.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told NBC News that the shooting is evidence that Americans need to “turn the rhetoric down.” Johnson said, “We’re all Americans, and we have to treat one another with dignity and respect.” However, he also cast some blame on President Biden, referencing recent campaign remarks where Biden said it was time to “put Trump in the bullseye.”

Johnson acknowledged, “I mean, I know that he didn’t mean what is being implied there,” but added, “That kind of language on either side should be called out.” He emphasized, “We can have vigorous debate, but it needs to end there.”

Newsweek contacted Johnson’s office via email on Sunday for comment.

In response to allegations that Biden’s comments may have incited violence, an aide to the president told the outlet that Biden has consistently spoken out “condemning political violence and saying it can never happen, before and during the presidency.”

Biden himself addressed these concerns on Sunday, saying: “It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons we have to unite this country … We cannot condone this.”

Johnson also commented on the broader media coverage and public discussions about Trump, stating, “There’s no figure in American history, at least in the modern era, maybe since Lincoln, who’s been so vilified and really persecuted by the media, Hollywood elites, political figures, you know, even the legal system.” He added that “when the message goes out constantly that the election of Donald Trump would be a threat to democracy, that the republic would end, I mean it, it heats up the environment.”

As the RNC begins on Monday in Milwaukee, all eyes will be on Trump’s Thursday night address. Biden, in his Oval Office speech, emphasized the importance of peaceful political discourse: “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.”

The president also stressed the need to resolve political differences through democratic means: “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.”

With the 2024 election still months away, this moment could prove crucial in determining whether there will be a genuine de-escalation of political tensions. Both Biden and Trump, along with other political leaders, seem to recognize the potential for this incident to either heal or further divide the nation.

Despite the gravity of the situation, Johnson expects Trump to return to the campaign trail soon, drawing on “an inexhaustible reservoir of energy and strength.” He added, “He’ll keep fighting.”