WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Lawmakers from both parties are joining President Joe Biden’s calls for civility after former President Donald Trump was shot at a rally on Saturday evening.
Biden, in an Oval Office address on Sunday night, called on Americans to get out of their silos and listen to people with opposing views.
“The political rhetoric of this country has gotten very heated,” Biden said. “It’s time to cool it down.”
Investigators haven’t indicated whether the shooting was politically motivated. Still, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said members of both parties have contributed to the country’s heated rhetoric.
“I think it’s on all Republicans, all Democrats, to come together, to lower the temperature, to measure the rhetoric and win on the basis of the policies that are best for the American people,” Tillis said. “It’s on us to police our own party.”
In the middle of a bitterly contested race, President Biden and former President Trump spoke on Saturday night, after the attack.
“The fact that they were able to communicate in a civilized, cordial way should be an example for all Americans. If they can do it, everybody can do it,” said Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.).
Biden has addressed the country three times since the shooting at former President Trump’s rally.
