The response to Saturday’s assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump from elected officials, both locally and nationally, was swift.
Sunday night in a rare address to the nation, Biden spoke about “the need for us to lower the temperature in our politics.”
“When we disagree, we are not enemies, we are neighbors, we are friends, citizens and Americans,” he said. “(Saturday’s shooting) calls on all of us to take a step back and take stock in how we move forward.
“A former President was shot, and an American citizen was killed simply exercising his right to support the candidate of his choosing. We must not go down that road we traveled before in this country. Violence has never been the answer.
He called for the hot rhetoric to cool in this country and for everyone to condemn political violence.
“Yes, we have deeply felt strong disagreements. The stakes in this election are enormously high,” he said. “We stand for an American of decency and grace. This places a burden on all Americans, no matter how strong our convictions. But we must never descend into violence. In America, we resolve our differences at the ballot box, not with bullets. It’s in the hands of the voters, not a would-be assassin. Hate must have no safe harbor.”
Steven Wells, chairman of the Osceola Democratic Executive Committee, said communication is needed to reach President Biden’s goal of “Turning down the temperature.”
“We have to have conversations, and call out the bad actors,” Wells said. “Violence has no place in politics. You have the (Congresswoman Gabby) Giffords shooting a decade ago, then you have to go back 40 years (when Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981) to see violence like this used. We stand against all violence, we wish Mr. Trump well, and are saddened by the loss of life at the rally.”
Joann Colonna, Vice Chair of the Osceola County Republican Executive Committee, said Saturday exposed the “reality of evil happening in our country.”
“We must not cave to this horrendous violence .We must stand tall and continue to be the patriots we are,” she said. “We must continue to pray God lifts our President with the strength he has given him all along. His stamina is amazing as no other human has been assailed since 2016. (Saturday) proved his strength. God Bless him always and God Bless America.”
Rep. Darren Soto, Osceola County’s Congressman in House District 9, posted on X, “We wish former President Trump a quick recovery. We also thank law enforcement for their rapid response. We will be monitoring the situation over the next few days as more information comes to light. In our democracy, violence is never the answer.”
Osceola County Commissioner Ricky Booth, the only Republican among the five on the dais, was the only Commission member to directly comment on the record about the shooting on Monday, although those we spoke to said violence is not the answer to political differences. Booth channeled a statement from President Theodore Roosevelt after a failed 1912 assassination attempt, proof history can repeat itself: “It is a very natural thing that weak and vicious minds should be inflamed to acts of violence by the kind of awful mendacity and abuse that have been heaped upon me for the last three months by the papers.”
“I have no doubt our Constitutional Republic will survive this election cycle too and, God willing, many more,” Booth said. “We as a nation must realize certain rhetoric does inflame weak and vicious minds to commit heinous acts. Saturday, violence cost an American engaging in our sacred political process his life. Let’s pray for his family, and for the speedy recovery of former President Trump and all those who were injured. Let us pray constantly that God will work through our Secret Service to always protect the President and Presidential nominees. Let’s fight our ideological battles with truth and intellect, not mendacity and violence. God Bless America!”
