Biden Back on Campaign, Tells Nevada Event ‘Politics Has Gotten Too Heated’

President Joe Biden returned to the campaign trail on July 16 to shore up support among black voters in Nevada, a key battleground state.

This was his first campaign appearance since the assassination attempt on his rival, former President Donald Trump, on July 13.

“It’s time for an important conversation in this country,” the president said in his Las Vegas speech. “Our politics has gotten too heated.”

President  Biden addressed a convention held by the civil rights group National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

He urged all Americans to “lower the temperature” and oppose all violence.

“We all have a responsibility,” he said. “Don’t be silent on others.”

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However, he stated that lowering the temperature does not mean he should stop telling the truth. He criticized his predecessor’s policies, suggesting that they negatively impacted black communities.

In his 30-minute speech, he emphasized his policies, which he says will benefit black voters, such as investing in childcare, providing high-speed broadband, reducing drug prices, forgiving student loans, and investing $16 billion in historically black colleges and universities.

“Everybody deserves a shot, just a shot, no guarantee. Give hate no safe harbor. Leave no one behind. That’s a stark contrast to my predecessor,” President Biden said before concluding his speech.

“It’s time to cool it down,” the president said.

The incident in Pennsylvania is the first assassination attempt against a current or former president in more than four decades, with the last taking place in 1981 when then-President Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded in Washington by a lone gunman.

“My first reaction was, my God,” the president told NBC’s Lester Holt on July 15 about the assassination attempt.

“I told him how concerned I was, and I wanted to make sure I knew how he was actually doing. He sounded good, he said he was fine, and he thanked me for calling him,” the president said during the NBC interview.

Quentin Fulks, President Biden’s principal deputy campaign manager, said the Democratic National Committee (DNC) will proceed with the plan as previously scheduled and organize a virtual roll call before the convention.

“I think the answer here is very simple,” Mr. Fulks said during a news conference in Milwaukee addressing the decision. “There have been virtual roll calls in previous presidential elections.”

Jacob Burg contributed to this report.